DC Gothic - Red-X 2
by gothicjedi666
Summary: My second Red-X story. After spending time with Doctor Fate, the master thief feels ready to go back to his life. However things have changed since he left, and Red-X soon finds himself leading a team of super crooks as they try to make a name for themselves (warnings for swearing and other adults things)
1. Chapter 1

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 1**

 **The Home of Doctor Fate**

Again I watched Aquaman attempt to play chess with the woman once known by many as Hawkgirl, and to others as Lieutenant Hol of Thanagar. Once she had been both a heroine and an undercover agent, now she was nobody at all. Which meant she was a lot like me really, so it made sense that we were both here.

As for me I was also playing chess, and while every move was being carefully calculated by me, every move brought me closer to defeat because I was playing against a mind that could move planets.

"Check in five moves," predicted Aquaman as he looked at my game "Only three in his".

For me more than three moves after already having started the game was very good. When I'd started playing against the robot I'd someone managed to lose on the second move. I hadn't even even know it was possible to get checkmated that quickly.

"We'll see" responded Shayera.

While red headed woman were not my thing, in fact a couple of them had made awful girlfriends for me in the past, there was something about Hawkgirl that made me want to jump into bed with her. I figured that it was just teenage hormones or something like that, but it was hard to keep my cool.

"Diana told me you used to regularly beat Batman" said Aquaman flatly

Even after that remark Shayera didn't give the King of Atlantis any reaction, and I was impressed. I also wondered why they kept playing when it was clear that Hawkgirl didn't enjoy the game, but to be fair there wasn't much do around here.

I at least had things to occupy my time. Doctor Fate was teaching about magic. At first he hadn't been able to guide me very far when it came to actually casting spells as my magical talent was linked to some god that was too chaotic for his branch of the arcane.

Then he'd introduced me to R'lyehian, which was a magical language made up of R'lyeh Glyphs, which was a sort of hieroglyphic lettering system had was brought to earth by the spawn of the Old Ones when they'd invaded this world thousands of years ago.

Being a servant of Order meant that Doctor Fate couldn't read R'lyehian and neither could A.M.A.Z.O despite how brilliant the android was. So it was left me to translate a pile of ancient texts, and from those I'd learned to create spell of great power.

"Difficult to believe from the current pitiful level of your game" Aquaman was now acidly remarking "I don't think you could even beat Red-X".

Right now I was tempted to go over their and punch the king of Atlantis, but hitting monarchs was a bad idea. They tended to have people executed for that sort of thing.

Not that it would be a big issue for me as I was truly immortal. Doctor Fate had none lethal ways of testing such things, and he also discovered that I was going to be around for a very, very long time.

There were spells to test someone's potential life span, and mine had no end. However this didn't mean I would live forever as I could die in another dimension, but not this one as Death, the person, would never come for me while I was in this world.

"I should have known better than to expect a proper challenge from a woman" said Aquaman with a snort.

The logical part of me knew that the underwater king was trying to piss her off so that she'd actually do something other than brood, but the part of me that felt rather than thought wanted to make him stop. By force if needs be.

"Such scintillating repartee. I'd get better conversation from the android" mocked Aquaman, as he kept trying to get a recation.

To be fair the robot was not very interesting, it was very literally so it had no skill at story telling. Which was a shame because the android had been all over the universe so it must have seen some incredible things.

"You are aware I'm in the room?" asked A.M.A.Z.O while also putting me one move closer to check mate.

Rather then answer the machine, Aquaman made move and I reached for the magic weapon I carried. Not because I wanted to use it but because I liked holding it.

I'd taken it from Reaper, who like me was some madman in a mask only he was much worse, and while for him it was a scythe for me it spent most of its time as a sickle. Which made it much easier to carry around.

Upon seeing it Doctor Fate had informed me that the sickle had been imbued with a demonic essence. Thankfully it had been simple enough to cleanse the weapon of that taint with a short ritual. Now it was actually more powerful than ever, and much safer to use.

"Check!" the royal leader of the underwater city called out, sounding very pleased with himself.

Rather than try to escape the trap her king was in Hawkgirl simply tipped over her most important piece.

"I win again!" Aquaman cheerlessly declared for all to hear.

Still the former member of the Justice League made no facial expression. She was still brooding, and I had no idea why woman found broody men attractive because it sure didn't work the other way around, at least not for me. But it wasn't her feelings that got my attention it was her body.

Sadly there was no point trying to get her to go to bed with me as even if any scheme I cam up somehow worked she wouldn't enjoy it, and for me sex had to pleasurable for both parties or there was no point.

"Huzzah," Aquaman added sarcastically.

That actually had an effect. Not a big one, but it was something.

"It's just a game" said Shayera flatly.

Aquaman then bolted to his feet and knocked aside the chessboard with his hook hand

"You disgust me" snapped Aquaman.

At this point I was sure he was no longer acting.

"Join the club" responded Shayera sadly.

As soon as the now former Hawkgirl left the room our host appeared.

"I could have told you that wouldn't work," said Fate knowingly.

That I had to agree with. I didn't think she would have reacted much even if a bunch ice skating mongooses came and performed the nutcracker for us.

"She was once one of the fiercest warriors I'd ever met" said Aquaman "and now she's a broken shell of her former self.

Well she had betrayed her own people to save the world, after betraying all of her friends. She didn't have anywhere else to go, she'd lost everything and everyone that had defined her life. I could somewhat relate.

"What's she doing here?" the king of Atlantis then asked.

Doctor Fate was able to answer that question.

"Trying to find her way" he explained "Leaving the Justice League was difficult for her. So I provided a sanctuary, a place to meditate on her life and future".

I'd been here long enough to sense when something was going to happen. It was nothing a person without magical powers would pick up but this place, seemed to react when something major was going down.

"We must allow her the time she needs to…" Fate was saying as the feeling intensified enough to divert his attention.

Fate's words trailed off and then he touched the forehead of his helmet. Perhaps he was now in some form of telepathic communication with his strange home.

"Excuse me" Fate said just before vanishing through an ankh shaped golden coloured portal

As soon as he was gone A.M.A.Z.O. telekinetically summoned the knocked aside chess set and table back where Aquaman was now sitting.

"New game?" offered the android "I can easily play two people at once".

That I did not doubt, and the king of Atlantis looked ready to make the machine regret the challenge. Getting into the spirit of the contest I made what I thought was a daring move.

"Checkmate" A.M.A.Z.O then told me.

My response to this would have been unacceptable around small children and Aquaman's attempt to defeat the android met with similar results.

"You are improving. This time it took me 16 moves to defeat you. That's nearly double the number it took Red-X" said A.M.A.Z.O.

While defeated the monarch was already for a re-match.

"Set up the board," commanded Aquaman.

That was Fate emerged from an ankh shaped golden portal.

"Solomon Grundy's grave is empty" we were informed.

Both the King and the Android stood up quickly, but I remained seated as this didn't concern me.

"Tell me where to find those responsible" ordered Aquaman. "And then dig more graves".

I figured then that I might go along with them. If nothing else it would make a nice change from playing chess or translating ten thousand year Old One tablets. I wasn't sure if I had found what I needed to find, but I didn't think I was going to find my purpose here.

"We are dealing with something far more sinister than mere human avarice" Fate then told us. "Grundy's grave was forced open from the inside. The site reeks of chaos magic".

Given that my magic was somewhat like chaos magic everyone sent a glance my way.

"I didn't do it" I said in my best Bart Simpson impression.

No one did think that, but their looks had compelled into denying it.

"He left under his own power" stated A.M.A.Z.O.

Well a zombie rising from his grave wasn't that odd. In fact the undead were well known for such things.

"With far more power than he has evidenced before" Fate added.

After saying that the servant of Cosmic Order conjured up an orb which showed us what Grundy was up to. He was fighting at least three members of League Superman appeared to be losing badly and Green Lantern wasn't looking so good either.

"They need our help" stated Aquaman as he donned his cloak.

Given that the Man of Steel was getting his ass kicked I didn't think we'd be much help, but on the hand there was only one thing that could stop this kind of magic, at least that I knew about, and a certain person who lived right here owned one.

"So does Grundy" said Shayera.

Everyone but me was surprised by her words.

"Let's try to get there before the League kills him" Shayera then added.

I for one wasn't so worried about that.

"That scenario… seems unlikely," commented A.M.A.Z.O.

Grundy was after all winning the battle.

"In any case, are you certain you're up to this?" asked Fate as the orb vanished into nothingness.

She seemed ready to me.

"Doesn't matter – Bad guy, or not, he sacrificed his life to save ours. We owe him" answered Shayera.

Also he'd ripped apart an Old One, which was just so cool.

"Very well" agreed Doctor Fate.

With a wave of his hand the magic user created a hole between dimensions.

"I learned the hard way that the energy dampening properties of weapons such as your mace can disrupt elemental forces" the man in the golden mask told us "So I've kept it hidden in a pocket dimension away from the magic that most flow freely in my home. But if you are truly ready to take up the fight again then you must reclaim your weapon".

Shayera reached into the portal and took hold of her Nth metal mace.

"Your staff may also prove useful, my young friend" Fate reminded me.

I'd forgotten that the spear/staff that Slade had given was made from Nth metal. That meant it had anti-magical properties and therefore had been left in a another pocket reality. Which made me wonder how many things he had stored away in such places.

"Fine I'll go" I told everyone as I put on my skull mask "Just don't let the League arrest me".

Granted they had bigger problems right now, but I didn't doubt that as soon as the smoke cleared one of the do-gooders would try to take me into custody. Heroes were depressing predictable.

(Line Break)

 **Battlefield**

When we got there everything was just terrible, this part of whatever city we were in looked like a warzone and to make things worse Shayera ran right into her ex-lover John Stewart, but not before she'd saved a little girl from being horribly killed.

"Shayera?" said Green Lantern.

Other people might have cried or hugged or done something dramatic but not the former Hawkgirl.

"Hate the beard" was all she said.

Before the hero could reply to the that remark, Superman came out the nearest body of water, which I assumed he'd been thrown into

"You okay?" Green Lantern asked the Man of Tomorrow.

I guessed that he was not.

"Do I look okay" snapped Superman.

Obviously the pounding he had gotten from Grundy had put the hero in a very foul mood.

"Perhaps we can be of some assistance" offered Fate when he sensed that this was the right time to speak.

No one argued about that as there could be no doubt that aid was badly needed.

"Okay, let's throw a wave of big guns at him. Me, Fate, and the Android," suggested Superman.

Shayera then stepped between A.M.A.Z.O. and the others while I just tried to stay out of the way. This wasn't the time for me to act.

"Hold up! Before the golden boy teleports him into the sun, I want to try talking to him" said Shayera to Superman.

Without waiting for permission the former Hawkgirl started to make her way over to the rampaging zombie.

"Shayera wait!" Green Lantern called out.

He was of course ignored.

"Grundy!" shouted Shayera loudly to be heard by everyone, including the reporters on the scene.

The zombie gave the winged woman his full attention. Which made me wonder if something of Grundy was still in there.

"Remember? Birdnose?" she was now saying.

While Grundy did stop for a moment, it didn't last long and soon a wreaked car was heading right for the former Hawkgirl. Thankfully she was saved by Superman.

"What's happened to him?" asked Shayera after she was dropped off with the rest of us.

I decided to get an answer.

" _Kadishtu lloig uaad_ " (Understand Mind Spell)

All I could sense was rage, a desire to destroy. If there was a mind in there, then it was buried under all the anger.

"I'm sorry. I sense nothing of the Grundy we know within that shell" Fate said, confirming my own findings "He is nothing, but rage".

Which meant this could only end one way. The way I'd known it would.

"Then it is time I brought this to an end" decided A.M.A.Z.O.

Shayera tried to stop the android, but it paid her no heed.

"In all my travels in space, I have obtained mastery of forces all but incomprehensible to humans" claimed A.M.A.Z.O.

The light show was impressive, but it did nothing to the zombie.

"Something is wrong" said the machine "The creature is somehow feeding on my energies".

So the robot was as usless here as the magic that Fate wielded and the energy that comes from Green Lantern's ring. No amount of physical strength from Superman seemed to make a differenc eeither. Which meant it was time for me to try something.

"Fm'latgh uaaad _"_ (Burn Spell)

The magical fire engulfed the zombie, but there was so much water around that it was easy for Grundy to put himself out.

"Okay give me a moment I'll try something else" I said to the good guys.

No one replied to that.

"Tell us something helpful doc" insisted Green Lantern.

Fate did just that.

"Grundy was revived using chaos magic, accumulative with no known outer limit" the man in the mask explained "My magics are as useless as A.M.A.Z.O.'s technology".

Vixen, who was John Stewert's current girlfriend, either didn't hear that or didn't care. She went with a very direct approach. Which was to weaken the base of a nearby statue and then let Aquaman topple it so that the zombie was crushed under all the stone.

Of course the statue trick didn't work and trying it nearly cost Vixen her life. She would have died if not for Shayera hitting Grundy with the mace. The weapon appeared to weaken him instead of strengthening which provided a chance for Green Lantern to save Vixen

"Don't make me do this Grundy!" pleaded Shayera over the din all around us.

With each strike Grundy became slower and slower, and soon the zombie was on his knees before the fromer Hawkgirl.

"Why does it hurt him?" wondered Green Lantern.

Since I didn't want her to have to kill Grundy I took out my staff. I doubted it would be as effective but since the undead thing looked close to dying yet again I didn't think it would matter.

"It is because it is made of Nth metal" Fate answered "The weapons of Shayera's people were developed specifically to repel magical creatures. It disrupts the very magic that animates him".

Which was why Nth metal was so effective against demons and other supernatural creatures. The more powerful the being the more it depended on it's magic to support its physical form. Human magic users were not so badly effected because we didn't need our powers simply to exisit.

Still even when fighthing mortals, Nth metal was effective because it was a strong metal and living things disliked being hit with heavy and sometimes sharp objects.

"Your mace may be the one object on Earth that can grant him peace" said Fate when Shayera backed away from Grundy and towards us.

Those words surprised the League members.

"Say, what now?" Green Lantern almost yelled.

I resisted the urge to point out that I had a Nth metal weapon because I didn't want attention drawn to me.

"Your favourite movie is _Old Yeller_. You know exactly what he is saying" said Shayera.

I watched then as the former heroine held her mace up a little higher. To me it looked as if she was contemplating the meaning of her life, the purpose of her being , and all that introspective stuff that she'd been mulling over for all the time I'd known her.

"Is this my destiny? To be a destroyer? To betray yet another friend?" asked Shayera of no one at all.

While she hadn't wanted one an answer wasn't long in coming.

"Only you have the power to put that creature of its misery" insisted Aquaman "To stop it before it hurts anyone else".

This was all needlessly over dramatic, and while perhaps Shayera had to end all this madness I had a way out of this that didn't involve anyone dying or doing any killing.

"I could give him his soul back" I said.

Everyone turned to me, and I regretted drawing their attention, but I wanted to help.

"I can do chaos magic too" I told them "So maybe I can use my power to give him his soul. It might not work, but it's worth trying".

There was also the chance that it could make things worse, but if I screwed up there was still the mace option.

"Please, do it" requested the former heroine.

I took out a notepad and looked up the right words. I was still learning how to cast spells, but as it was a short of chaos magic it too could be just as limitless as what was powering Grundy.

"Wait, my young friend" insisted Doctor Fate "Grundy's soul may reside in paradise. Ripped it out heaven, or even hell could cause the spirit great pain and there could be consequences".

I mulled things over before saying something.

"Would those consequences be worse than Grudy destroying everything unless Shayera kills him?" I asked.

That shut him up, and understandabley so since there wasn't much he could say to that.

"Besides if it goes wrong I can do undo the spell" I pointed out "Or I could end all this with _MY_ Nth metal weapon".

I was annoyed that Fate had forgotten that I had a spear that could hurt magical things, and I doubted these were the only ones as Shayera's people had left the planet in a hurry.

" _Goka orr'e uaad!"_ (Grant Soul Spell)

I saw a bright light in Grundy's eyes, and then my own vision began to blur as I felt myself slip into darkness.

(Line Break)

 **The Home of Doctor Fate**

"And so you have decided to leave" my host said as I finished putting all of my gadgets back into my belt.

Now that the League was aware that I was here I couldn't stay. The JL knew that Red-X knew things that could harm then, and while Fate could protect me I didn't want to make him chose between me and the League.

"Yep" was all I said on the matter.

That was when the magic user presented me with a small bag full of crystals. They were jet black, but they didn't feel bad in any way.

"If anyone's memories have been altered then breaking just one in their presence will restore what was lost" Fate explained "Give them only to the people who you wish to remember you. Once broken they will recall what your wish took away. I believe that a certain young woman in Jump City would very much like to know you as she once did".

I could send one to Raven as I knew she missed not knowing who I was. Maybe I would give one to Jinx too as she should be allowed to remember me as we had been close once upon time and I found myself missing her too.

As for the others I would be very careful with them because if they fell into the wrong hands then I would have wasted my wish.

"Thank you" I said to Fate.

The man in the mask nodded.

"I may call upon you again should I have an urgent need for your strange brand of chaos magic" Fate told me "And I imagine that Shayera may wish to thank you herself when she finds the time"

My spell had not only restored Grundy's soul, ithad somehow mixed with the magic already inside Grudy to turn him into a newborn baby of all things. Chaos magic was without limits and sometimes it made no sense.

Another theory of Fates's was perhaps some sort of miracle had taken place. If so I was grateful for it as the outcome had spared someone I cared about a lot of pain.

"I'm sure I'll see her around I" I said.

Without any further ado, Fate created a portal for me and I went through it without dely.

I knew exactly where it led.


	2. Chapter 2

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 2**

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

While Raven hadn't had the longest of evil fighting careers her life hadn't been lacking in struggles both big and small. But what she was facing now was on a whole different level.

"I can't believe this is happening why me why does this have to happen to me what am I going to do how am I suppose to tell the others that I'm pregnant with Red X's baby?" she asked her own reflection in the bathroom mirror "How am I suppose to tell X about this and what if he doesn't want to be a father?".

A lot more questions ran through the part demon's mind, a few included wondering how exactly she'd gotten pregnant given that she wasn't even the same species as the guy who had knocked her up.

Also she wondered how long the pregnancy was going to take because when it came to demons and part demons it was never going to be the expected nine months.

Thinking that led to her wondering what exactly it was she would give birth to given that only one of the parents of the child was a human being. However finding out stuff like that was going to have to wait. She had other issues to deal with first, like telling her friends that she was up the duff.

At least she now remembered the father thanks to a crystal she'd gotten from Red-X. As instructed she'd broken it, in fact she'd done so without thinking. Which in retrospect had been rather foolish, but she'd known who it was from and she'd badly wanted her memories back.

Oddly she wasn't mad about having her recollections altered. She understood why because the note the crystal had come with had explained it all. Mostly she was just happy to have her mind restored. Still she figured she'd owed Red-X at least a slap or maybe a couple of kicks to the shins.

As Raven was going to the main room to tell the other Teen Titans that she was pregnant. She decided to tell Starfire the news first as the alien princess was the closest thing she had to a best friend and she was another female and therefore might have some helpful advice to offer.

She would also measure Star's reaction, and depending on how the alien reacted she would then decide if telling the others was the right thing to do or if she should wait awhile.

"Hello friend Raven I am very surprise that you knocked on my door. What has brought you here?" asked Starfire once she had opened her bedroom's door.

For the super powered babe that had actually been rather normal sounding.

"Well Star I actually want to tell you something important" said Raven

Right now she was hoping to get an invite inside the room as this wasn't exactly something she wanted to discuss while standing in the corridor.

"Of course friend Raven why won't you come in and you then you can speak of the important matter you wish to discuss" invited Starfire.

The daughter of Trigon resisted the urge to remark on the fact that was most people would just said something like 'come on in' or even just 'take a load off'. Instead the emo girl simply took a seat

"Now friend Raven what matter do you wish to speak of" asked Starfire her voice full of curiosity.

Since this wasn't going to be easy the magic user didn't just come out and say what was on her mind.

"Star promise me that you won't tell the other's about this" said Raven, who was suffering from understandable anxiety at this point.

"But Raven why do you wish not tell our friend's about his matter" inquired Starfire.

She wasn't one for lying so the alien would need a good reason to keep her mouth shut.

"This is one of those things we have keep between us girls" explained Raven "At least for now. I will tell everyone when I'm ready".

That was the best she could do.

"I understand Friend Raven" said Starfire "If you would like me to I will not tell the others"

Star wasn't great at keep secrets, but when she made a promise she fought hard to keep it. Besides she wouldn't have to keep it for very long as this wasn't something Raven would be able to hide forever.

"Thanks Star I really appreciate that" replied Raven

Which was an understatement really.

"Now Friend Raven please tell me your important news" said Starfire rather impatiently.

She was practically vibrating with anticipation at this point.

"I'm pregnant" Raven blurted out.

She hadn't been able to hold it in any longer.

"Friend Raven I am very happy for you" said Starfire as she hugged the knocked up young woman.

Lucky for the unborn demon spawn the alien princess had been able to restrain from hugging her friend too hard. Starfire often forgot how strong she was and in the past Raven's rib had suffered because of that.

"Star I'm glad you happy but please let me go" said Raven with urgency "I need to breathe".

Upon realising what she was going Starfire let go of her friend.

"Forgive me friend Raven I am so full of happiness for you" the orange coloured alien told her team mate.

Then Starfire frowned as a thought crossed her mind.

"Is the Red-X the father?" she questioned.

There was next to no chance of it being anyone else as Raven wasn't exactly the type of girl to hook up with some random guy so Koriand'r hadn't really needed to ask.

When Raven nodded there was only one thing Starfire could say.

"Robin will not be overjoyed by this news".

That was pretty much the understatement of the century.

(Line Break)

 **H.I.V.E Tower - Jump City.**

After yet another disastrous meeting with the Teen Titans the group known as the H.I.V.E Five had decided that they needed to change the way they did things.

To be more accurate the females in the group had decided that things needed to be done a different way and part of their planning had led them to agreeing that they would do better if they had a leader.

A leader who could not only come up with good plans, but also led the H.I.V.E to victory over the Teeb Titans, or at the very least led them on a single successful job so that they would stop being the laughing stock of the criminal underworld.

There had really only been one choice. The thief known as Red-X. Not only was he a master criminal, he had also successfully stolen many things even though the Teen Titans kept trying to stop him.

The heroes had never been able to catch Red-X and given that both Jinx and Blackfire, who were currently the joint leaders of the H.I.V.E Five, had been involved with the super crook they weren't opposed to having him in charge. In fact there had been times when they had very much enjoyed having him in charge.

"We need something he can't resist" Jinx said to Blackfire as they discussed their strategy "Something that will make him not only want to take charge of the group, but also to do a good job of being leader".

Mammoth, Gizmo, and Kyd Wyykd, the male members of the group hadn't been asked for their input, but that didn't matter as Mammoth didn't care very, Gizmo actually liked Red-X anyway, and Kyd couldn't talk.

"Why?" asked Blackfire "He'll be leader if we offer it to him. He wouldn't turn it down".

Jinx wasn't so sure about that. She had been Red-X's girlfriend back when they'd all been in at H.I.V.E academy and he was a lone wolf by nature, so being offered the role of team leader wouldn't be that appealing to the master thief. They would need something to sweeten the deal.

"Look, we just need something, okay" Jinx argued "We can't afford to pay him so we have to offer him an insentive".

In they could haved afforded to hire him for the job then they wouldn't need him as they already be rich. Sadly they didn't have that kind of cash.

Which was partly why they were so desperate for new leadership. Another reason why they needed a new commander was that neither Jinx or Blackfire would let the other boss them around even during a fight.

This was because they were two alpha females and unless something changed they'd end up doing what always happened when a group had two alpha females. They would either fight to the death or spilt the group in half and go their own way.

Neither outcome would be good because they couldn't defeat the Titans with the numbers they had so dividing their forces or even just lessening their membership by one would just make thing worse.

"I can be a lure for Red-X!" Blackfire readily volunteered.

The alien princess was quite willing to spread her legs for the thief, she'd rather enjoyed it the last time and perhaps she wouldn't have stopped if not for the fact that she needed to leave Earth in a hurry.

She would have tried tracking him down before now, but until Jinx had smashed a crystal in front of the whole group none of them had really remembered Red-X much.

"No, no." Jinx replied dismissively "We need someone attractive."

She had actually been hinting that she should be the one to tempt Red-X with her body. It had been a while since she'd gotten any and her prospects weren't good. She knew a few guys, the problem was that they weren't exactly suitable boyfriend material.

Gizmo not only had the body of a child he had the mind of one too, even that mind was one that could come up with devices that defied physics. As for Mammoth while he was very much grown up in body he also all the maturity of an irate toddler. That left Kyd Wyykd and Jinx wasn't even sure he was human, never mind male. So no one would blame her for using this situation to try to snag her old boyfriend back.

"Oh what if we offer him both of us" Blackfire suggested "There's no way he would turn down having two girls to go to bed with".

It was at times like these that Jinx was reminded that the evil princess was an alien. That idea was not one a human woman would have suggested, at least not so bluntly.

The grey skinned girl's gut reaction was to shoot the idea down, but when she thought about it she realised that her comrade in crime was right. No guy would say no to that, and it would avoid a lot of heated discussion.

"Would we have to do stuff with each other or just him?" Jinx asked.

Blackfire spent a few moments pondering that question before finally offering an answer.

"I guess that would be up to him" she said "I mean that's kind of the point of making him the leader".

Jinx then realised that the prospect of having a threesome wasn't as odd as she might have thought. Blackfire was pretty and while they were both straight doing things with each other wouldn't make them lesbians because they would be doing it for a guy. Which was logic that made sense to her.

Besides all guys like that sort of thing so there was no Red-X would resist.

(Line Break)

 **H.I.V.E Tower - Jump City.**

I'd been a way from this town for quite some time and I hadn't really intended on staying as there was a whole world out there.

Then I'd gotten an email form an old girlfriend of mine who had asked me to met her at a set of map coordinates.

Now that I was here I was wondering why I'd agreed to stick around even long enough for this meeting. This city was after Slade's stomping ground, but he was suppose to be dead now. Although I suspected that he had taken Rose away somewhere in order to train her.

As far as I knew nothing important had happened in this city in a while, and in some ways that unsettled me. It was almost as if something should have happened, only it hadn't and that was bothering me for some reason.

"I'm here" I said as I looked around what seemed to be a normal looking building "You there Jinx?".

The place I was in now was just that, a place. There were two unused buildings on this street for some reason. To me it seemed like total a waste of space.

"You kept us waiting, handsome" said a voice.

I almost reached for my gun when I heard that voice. It had been some time since I'd seen Komand'r, and we hadn't exactly parted on the best terms. I hadn't even known she was back on Earth, not that I should have as I had been in another dimension.

Blackfire walked into the dim light before speaking. Which gave me a chance to note that while she was wearing her armour her stance was relaxed.

Which meant she hadn't come here looking for a fight. In fact if anything it looked as if she was going to ask me for something, but I could have been wrong about that as her expressions and movements didn't always mean the same thing as a human woman's would.

"I.. that is we have a proposition to make" she then told me.

If not for my mask she would have been able to see how nervous I was right now. I'd come here expecting to met Jinx, and for a second I'd forgotten that but now that Blackfire had said 'we' I was suddenly thinking that we might not be alone. This could be a trap.

"The last time I spent any time with you I got shot in the back" I reminded the criminally insane alien.

It had been more insulting than the time she had stabbed in the stomach despite it having hurt less the second time she had tried to kil me.

Thankfully I was immortal so she couldn't do more than hurt me. Still that didn't mean that I was foolish enough to lower my guard around someone as dangerous as her.

"Come to think of it I owe you a death" I said to Komand'r.

She was fast, but I was faster and my pistol was no mere slugthrower it was a high tech energy weapon that could kill even her, so if she made a move she would die.

Not that I really wanted to kill her, but there was only so many times a man could put with seeing his own blood pooling on the floor.

"Go ahead and try something" Blackfire taunted "I have a back up and all it will take is one..."

As soon as she mentioned back up I started to ignore her and blinked a number of times in the right pattern. Which switched my vision to infra red. Now I could see four other figures and I could guess who they were. I also knew how to take each of them down with next to no effort.

"Okay. I'll try something" I told Blackfire who had stopped talking by now.

I made four moves. The first was encase Mammoth in a giant X that turned into something like chewing gum upon impact. The second was to disable Jinx, using two smaller Xs I pinned to arms to her side The third move was to also cover Kyd Wykkyd red goo so that he couldn't move either. The last move was to pin Gizmo to the wall.

Blackfire swore, it wasn't anything in English but given her tone of voice she couldn't have been saying anything nice.

"Now then, about this deal" I said in a perfectly relaxed tone of voice.

The alien princess wasn't ready to tell me everything just yet.

"Have you ever taken on the Teen Titans?" she asked me "By yourself I mean"

If they were trying to hire for me a job then they had gone about it in a very silly way.

"Once or twice" was all I had to say on the matter.

Truthfully I'd tangled with those punks a few times and while I'd never really harmed any of them they'd never been able to capture me. In fact most of the time they'd just been annoying.

Robin aka the Boy Wonder, was the only Titan I actually worried about and the only reason he even noticed my existence was because I wore what had been his suit.

I wasn't sure how the Titans would react to be being back in town given that I'd shagged Raven a few times during the tournament and she had positive feelings towards me. However that had been some time ago, and given what I'd done she might never want to see me again.

"I've been having some trouble with them" Blackfire confessed.

It wasn't hard to imagine that they kept getting in the way every time Komand'r tried to kill her sister, they could be annoying like that.

"Hmm, I assume that these idiots aren't much help" I then said.

I'd seen them in action enough to know that despite their powers they weren't much of a threat to the Titans.

"Hey!" Mammoth yelled from within the pile of goo holding him in place "I can still hear you!"

Given how stuck he was his opinion hardly mattered.

"I know" I told him before turning my attention back to Blackfire "What does that have to do with me?".

Now she was getting close to the point of all this. I could sense it.

"Well we need someone" Blackfire explained "Someone who can actually take on the Titans and not get their ass kicked".

Mostly I'd only been able to escape the Titans, but that was more than many crooks could say.

"Which is where I come in" I realised

Now things were starting to make sense. This little group of criminals had everything they needed to make it big, super powers, muscle and even a tech guy but they didn't have a guy to come up with the plans.

"Yes. That's were you come in" the alien princess confirmed.

I was already turning around intending to leave when Jinx spoke.

"We want you to be the leader" she said.

Hearing that made me stop in my tracks, but not for long as I had no desire to be tied down.

"Oh and you get both of us as your girlfriends if you agree" Blackfire added "Jinx and me in your bed doing what you want".

Now that was tempting. I could steal anything I wanted and I was smart enough to get away with what I took, but no amount of robbery could get me two willing sexual partners.

"I'm in" I decided "At least for now. We can see how things go".

My intention was to leave without delay if things didn't work out.

"Great" said Jinx "Now could you free us?"

Jinx's arms were bound so she couldn't use her powers to free herself. As for Mammoth, he was straining against the red goo, but that wouldn't help him. Gizmo he was just wiggling about. As for Kyd he was already free and was just leaning on a wall looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. I knew I'd have to keep a keen eye on that one.

"Does he ever speak?" I asked Blackfire while pointing at Wyykd.

Already I was getting a creepy vibe off this guy.

"Nope" the alien princess replied. "He's a mute"

Yeah he was going to be trouble. The silent types always were.

"So do you guys have a evil lair?" I then asked as I used a solvent to dissolve the glue keeping Mammoth in place.

"You're standing in it" Gizmo told me.

Needless to say I was not impressed.

"I'll give you the tour" offered Jinx once I cut her lose "Our towers pretty neat".

Since I hadn't noticed any tower from the outside I had to inquire on this subject.

"Is it invisible?" I asked.

Jinx shook her head as she took her arm in mine.

"No its underground" she explained "This is the top floor".

That actually sounded rather cool. I couldn't wait too see the rest.

"Then I'll show you your bedroom" offered Blackfire.

I had in fact been looking for somewhere to stay.

"We'll show you your bedroom" Jinx corrected.

I said nothing and under my mask I was smiling. I got the feeling that leading this team could be a lot of fun.


	3. Chapter 3

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 3**

 ** **Abandoned Steel Mill – Jump City****

Like a hunting cat I landed on my feet and also much like a feline stalking his prey I began to prowl around what remained of Slade's hideout. I'd practically lived in this place, at least for a short time, so at once I knew that something was very wrong here.

To start with it was too quiet, the machinery, that had always created a consent background noise, were no longer working and all the robots were gone too. I had no idea where they had gone, and by the looks of things someone had come along and cleared up even the spare parts.

My prime suspects were the Justice League, the Teen Titans, and perhaps eCADMUS. If any, or even all them, had been here they would have taken all the advanced tech and then cleaned up after. A criminal group would have take anything of value, and left only a mess.

Next I headed to my room, and I discovered that all my stuff was gone. More than that someone else, a female someone judging by the clothes left behind, had been living here. However when I checked Rose's room it looked as if she'd packed up and left.

I couldn't think of any reason why she would move into my room as it wasn't any larger than mine, and the personal effects I'd found weren't really Rose's style. Besides Slade's daughter had never been a typical messy teenager, whoever had been staying in my room had been a slob.

As for my stuff, that had all been boxed up and left in a nearby store room. Which was good because I wanted my books, my extra weapons and my xenomorph skull. The thing might have given me nightmares once, but now it was a trophy of a great victory.

While I was happy to have these things I had to wonder why they were still here. I could understand why no one would have taken the books, they were nothing special. But the weapons should have been confiscated, and I could not imagine the xenomorph skull being thought of as unimportant.

Then when I got to the basement I saw something that at first defied my understanding.

It looked as if the ground itself had opened up and swallowed Slade. There was no other explanation for what I could see, and I knew that Wilson was gone. I was able to feel it deep down in my gut.

Which was good for me as it meant I was free. Deathstroke would have forgotten about me as a person, but he would have remembered having Red-X as his appretince. Now that was no longer an issue.

What I didn't understand was how it had happened. There had been nothing on the news, and no one in town was discussing anything strange that had happened. There had been an earthquake, but this was California so that wasn't strange.

I used my mask to switch the infra-red and then back to night-vision, but I saw nothing odd other than the disturbed ground. Yet I knew this wasn't natural as an earthquake strong enough to do something like this would have caused wide spread devastation. This had been an attack of some sort.

During my time with Doctor Fate I'd explored my magical abilities, and while my mentor hadn't been able to teach me much in the way of spellcasting, as my magic was very different than his, there were certain skills anyone with mystical potential could learn to use.

One of them was the ability to sense powerful enchanted items and where arcane powers had been used. Magic could be sensed it different ways, to some it was almost a smell, that was why in the past certain people had been able to sniff out witches. They'd even made a profession out of it.

For people like me this sense was harder to define. There was nothing tangible about it, no smell, or change in temperature, or even a reaction by hairs on the back of the neck. Yet I could just feel it on some spiritual level.

Dark magic was the easiest to sense as it unnaturalness practically assaulted the senses of someone sensitive enough, and this kind of damage could only have been caused my someone with hostile intent. Evil magic wasn't much good for people who didn't want to cause harm to others.

However I was getting nothing from this place I was no expert at sensing mystical energy, but even a novice should have been able to pick up on something. Which meant that this was not the work of magic user.

Sadly that didn't narrow things down much as the scene could be the result of some sort of device, or an exotic weapon. It could even the work of a meta-human with strange powers.

As odd as all this was the question going through my mind was: What happened to Rose?

I'd just have to solve that mystery another time as it was getting late and I had a date with Raven. I didn't want to be late.

 **(Line Break)**

 ** **Steel Mill – Jump City****

Not long after Red-X had left a black limo rolled to a halt just outside of the Steel Mill. From the drivers seat came a butler, who then moved to the passenger door and opened it.

"We've arrived young miss" the man with the British accent said.

The window came down to show a girl with white hair, which reached her shoulders. Her grey eyes had a coldness them in them that went well with her pale skin.

As she stepped out of the car anyone watching would have admired her decent bust, her long legs, and her athletic build that had been improved by exercise and training. She was wearing tight fitting material of some sort, and even some armour. She also carried two swords.

"I'll only be a minute or two" the young woman told the driver.

With grace that had been earned through hard work that had been brought out natural abilities, the girl made her way down into the basement.

"I know we didn't always get along" the young woman said to the ruined ground "And I know I wasn't the daughter you wanted, but I'm going to change all that. I'll make them pay for your death… Father"

She then she placed a bouquet of flowers onto the torn up ground.

"Roses from Rose" she whispered

She then stood up straight and took out something from inside her outfit. It was copper and black facial mask that only had one eyehole. It was all she had left of him.

"I'll make them pay" she swore to the mask.

Now that she paid her respects, Rose Wilson turned and left the Steel Mill.

"Miss Wilson" said the butler when Rose got back to the car "We should return home"

With that he held open the door for her, but the young lady didn't get back inside the limbo right away.

"Wintergreen" Rose said "Have you been keeping an eye on those that did this to my father?"

The butler was silent for a few moments before finally nodding.

"I have Miss Wilson" he told her "I have recorded every fight, every win or loss since your father's untimely demise".

Upon hearing that Rose narrowed her eyes at the large T shaped building in the distance.

"You may have defeated my father" Rose whispered "But now you must deal with the Ravager".

Then she got back into the limbo and seconds later Wintergreen drove them both away.

(Line Break)

 **Streets – Jump City**

Shortly before her date was due to start Raven appeared in an alley. She'd not exactly teleported, as she didn't want to do that while pregnant, but moving through shadows was less risky and since it was night time there was plenty of darkness around.

At a brisk pace she headed down the streets with her hands in her coat pockets. She didn't normally dress in civilian clothes, but for once she actually wanted to blend in. That was hard to do when you had purple hair, but thankfully there were plenty of emo and goths about so she was able to move about unnoticed.

When she joined the general pubic she looked around and was pleanstly surprised that one seemed to pay her any attention.

 _'I might actually get used to this'_ she thought to herself before wondering what film Red-X and she would see. She hoped that it wasn't another horror movie as while she enjoyed that genre she might lose control of powers if she got too emotional and she was already somewhat stressed due to the fact that she was scared to tell her date that he'd gotten her pregnant.

"Hello" said a voice from behind her

Then Teen Titan nearly jumped out of her skin, as she hadn't sensed him with empathy and she hadn't heard him coming either. Turning she gave the dark haired young man an annoyed glare while also taking in what her date was wearing.

As ever he was in black, but what he wore now was no super suit. He wore simple boots, jeans, a plain t-shirt and over the top of that he had on was a long black coat. The only accessories he wore were two rings.

"What?" Red-X questioned as Raven rolled her eyes at him "Did I do something wrong?"

He had, sort of, but that wasn't what had upset her. At least not this time.

"How did you do that?" she questioned "You came out of nowhere".

Hearing that made the crook smile.

"I'm a master thief" he reminded her "If I couldn't sneak about then I'd have gotten myself arrested by now".

That explained why Raven hadn't heard the young criminal coming, but she didn't understand why her empathic senses had warned her he was close by.

"Ready to go, Sunshine?" Red-X then asked.

The Titan resisted the urge to grind her teeth upon hearing that nickname.

"Why are you calling me that?" she demanded to known.

That question made the criminal chuckle.

"Using your real name might draw attention" Red-X told her "Besides it's my affectionate nickname for you".

While she liked the idea of having him call her something other than the name her friends used, Sunshine wasn't a good choice.

"Call me something else" she pretty much ordered "And not Rae-Rae".

Red-X mulled over his choices.

"How about just Ray" he suggested "Cause your such a _ray_ of sunshine".

With a nod Raven showed that she had decided that it was the lesser of two evils.

"Ray it is then" Red-X then said.

With that the two super powered young people headed into the cinema to see what movies were on offer. She'd already checked out online reviews and movie times, but she was happy to let her date pick the movie. He was after all paying for everything.

"The Matrix Reloaded" Raven read while checking out the time the films started.

Red-X hated the idea of seeing that movie.

"I saw that one" he told his date "It's just confusing".

The Teen Titan thought that remark as it made no sense to her.

"It just came out" she said "When did you get a chance to see it?".

Raven knew exactly where the young crook had been for the last couple of months.

The thief looked around to make sure no one was listening before he answered the question.

"My world is years ahead of this one in time" the crook explained "So I've already seen all three of the Matrix films, and trust they just aren't worth it unless your a hardcore sci fi fan".

Raven decided to take her date's word on it. She didn't really care what film they saw anyway.

"Freddy verses Jason" Red-X then read out "That one wasn't too bad, and you look like the type to enjoy the scary stuff".

The purple haired girl was against this.

"No way" she said a way that made her opinion on the matter clear.

Given the time there was only one other choice.

"Underworld" Red-X said "Vampires verses Werewolves. It's got lot of action. A romance plot, and of course monsters".

It seemed the best choice so the thief reached into his coat for his wallet. While he didn't have access to regular income now that he was no longer employed by Deathstroke, a felon like him could always access some cash. There were plenty of pocket's to pick, and he found it very fun to go around mugging the muggers.

"Two for Underworld" he then said at the girl at the booth.

It amused Raven for a moment that the teenager who took the money had no idea that she was looking right at a Teen Titan and a graduate of the H.I.V.E academy.

"Want anything before the movie starts?" Red-X then questioned Raven.

Then young heroine then sensed something and she just nodded her head when she saw that her date had also noticed that they were spied on.

"I'll get us some popcorn" the thief then said.

(Line Break)

Out of the corner of his eye Red-X had seen two folks who didn't really fit with the people here.

One of then was a large a bald African American teen who looked like he like he spent too much time at the gym. However that wasn't what made him look out of place, the way the youth moved was somehow wrong and he seem to take up more space than he needed to.

The other was a short, skinny kid who was pretty much buried under his outfit. He wore a big hat, oversized sunglasses, a large coat and even a scarf despite the fact that it wasn't cold. The young man had made every effort he could to cover as much of himself as possible.

The two were of course Cyborg and Beast Boy, and with little to no regard for their friend's privacy, they had decided to spy on her.

As to how they had followed Raven here. Cyborg had simply checked the purple haired girl's internet history and had seen that she had been checking out movie times. So it had been a simple matter to get here before she had even left the tower.

Starfire was also here hiding behind a potted plant. However she was not following Raven and Red-X. She seemed to be spying on another teenager, one who had dark hair and also wore sunglasses indoors.

Cyborg soon realised that Robin was spying on Raven while Starfire had followed the Boy Wonder, perhaps thinking her love interest had come here on a date of his own.

"What's Star doing here?" BB questioned his friend.

The large hero sighed as he came to understand that his green skinned friend hadn't spotted Robin. Not that he was surprised as judging by the shape shifters disguise he really wasn't cut out for sneaky stuff, at least not when in his human form.

"I think she's spying on Robin, and he's spying on Raven " Cyborg muttered "Or maybe she's trying to stop Robin from spying on Raven. She might be worried that Rob will ruin the date and upset Rae".

Robin had of course already spotted Starfire despite the fact that she was actually doing a good job of hiding herself all thing considered. Also Cyborg didn't doubt that Robin had figured that he and BB were here.

"Friend Beast Boy, are you worried for Friend Raven also?" Starfire whispered as she hide herself behind her friends

While the alien princess was not the most subtly of people she was rather good at moving around without making noise. Of course it helped that her feet didn't have to touch the floor.

"Why are worried about Rae, Star?" asked Beast Boy "She can take care of herself".

The alien babe did not agree.

"I do not wish to see her hurt again" Starfire explained "And I think that may happen should Robin do something foolish".

The Boy Wonder was protective of his friends, even if he would deny it, so it made sense that he might try to scare off anyone who got close to one of the Titans. After what had happened with Terra it was excusable for their leader to be extra weary, but ruining Raven's social life was not acceptable.

"Well I got tickets for the movie their seeing" said Beast Boy "So let's go in there and stop Robin from doing anything I would do".

By that Starfire and Cyborg assumed that their team mate meant something very foolish and humiliating that he might do.

"Why did you get four tickets?" Cyborg questioned.

The part-man/part machine had told him to only get two.

"I kind of figured Rob and Star would follow us, when they figured out we were following Raven" the meta-human informed his friend.

Cyborg was actually impressed by his little buddy, but he said nothing as they needed to follow Raven before they lost sight of her.

(Line Break)

Red-X and Raven quickly found a pair of seats and sat down just in time to see previews for upcoming films. Which made more than enough noise to cover their discussion.

"Why are you team mates all following us?" the thief asked.

He had easily spotted Starfire because she had knocked over a plant and Beast Boy's efforts to hide his appearance only drew attention to him. As for Cyborg his disguise while clever hadn't fooled Red-X because he had taken the time to study the Titans and so he knew exactly what Victor Stone had looked like before becoming part machine.

Also there was a dark haired young man sitting by himself watching the screen while wearing 3D glasses even though it wasn't a 3D movie. The crook couldn't be certain, but he guessed that was Robin.

"Beast Boy just doesn't respect people's privacy" Raven told her date "I guess Robin's worried you're a villain whose using me to infiltrate the Titans".

Given that Terra had done with Beast Boy it was understanable.

"As for Cyborg, well he would have tried to stop Beast Boy to start with" Raven was now saying "but then would have agreed to come along to keep that green menace out of trouble".

Which was exactly what had happened.

"Starfire is following Robin because she must have thought he was here to met a girl" the part demon explained "And now that she knows the truth she just wants to stop him from doing something stupid".

The thief was impressed by how well the purple haired girl knew her friends.

"And they have no idea who I am?" Red-X then asked.

The Titan just nodded her head.

"Speaking of friends" Raven then said as she stole some of her date's popcorn "You haven't told me what your situation is with Jinx. Are you to back together now your staying in the city".

Red-X decided not to tell the whole of the truth.

"We're just room mates" he told her "The H.I.V.E Five put me in charge of their little group.

The thief downplayed it, but really he was rather pleased with the arrangement. He now had control over a criminal group that was made up of super powered being. If he could get them to work well as a team they could become highly successful.

"You still hang out with the HIVE?" said a surprised Raven "I thought you weren't really a super villain".

Compared to most crooks who had powers Red-X wasn't much a danger, so it surprised Raven that her love interest would join such a group. Not they were very dangerous either.

"There my friends" the goth pointed out "and I didn't have anywhere else to go. Besides they just want me to plan the crimes and keep your lot from foiling all their schemes. I'm not interested in taking over the city, or committing major mayhem".

She was somewhat happy about that.

"I guess I should thank you for that." Raven said as the previews came to an end.

Her voice had been casually, but truthfully she was happy that the Titans wouldn't have to worry about Red-X becoming a crime lord as in the past he'd been able to commit felonies and her team had never been able to do more than make him run from the scenes of those crimes.

"Wanna make out?" Raven suddenly asked.

She didn't actually care about the film, and as it turned out neither did he.

(Line Break)

Rows behind Raven and Red-X sat Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire who had all sat there and pretended to watch the previews

"Dude why didn't we sit closer to them?" the small meta-human asked of his two friends.

From here it was impossible to hear what either their friend or her date was saying.

"Please be silent friends, the movie of viewing has started and I wish not to be thrown out" Starfire pleaded.

Sadly Beast Boy couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"There making out!" he suddenly shouted.

Moments later he was in fact thrown out. Cyborg and Starfire decided to go with him. Robin, who in fact the guy in 3D glasses, smirked.

"Amateurs" he said.

He was sure he hadn't been spotted, and he wasn't until he saw what Raven was now getting up to. He couldn't control himself then, and also ended up getting thrown out.


	4. Chapter 4

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 4**

 **H.I.V.E Tower – Jump City**

I had to admit that this boss thing was kinda cool. I got the nice big chair at the head of the fancy conference table, and everyone had to wait for me to start the meeting. Which I did as Mammoth had already eaten all the yummy chocolate biscuits and my coffee was starting to get cold.

"So what is it you guys do?" I asked the young crooks.

I knew what they'd been trained to do, because I'd gotten the same education as they had. However I'd been taken as an apprentice by Slade Wilson before I could finish school so I didn't know what it was the graduates of the academy actually did once they were let lose on the world.

"We're criminals for hire" Jinx explained to me "Other bad guys pay us to do jobs for them".

That much I understood as I'd been hired to steal things in the past.

"But is that it?" I inquired of my group "You just sit around waiting for some other crook to need our assistance".

In my view we could do a lot more. We had a team of powerful people. Gizmo could build impossible machines. Mammoth was strong enough to demolish buildings. Jinx could do magic. Blackfire had lots of powers. Finally there was Kyd Wyykd who could do lots of things. And of course there was me, the master crook.

"Don't you want anything else" I went on ask.

I for one did not intend to waste my talents benefiting other people. If that had been the case I'd have joined the Justice League.

"Errr I like money" Mammoth told us.

Well cash did have its uses.

"I wanna steal high tech stuff" Gizmo added

That was no surprise.

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend" Jinx informed me with me a smile.

Knowing that would make buying her gifts simple if nothing else.

"Stealing shiny stuff is good" said a bored looking Blackfire "Well that and making my sister as miserable as possible".

Another view of mine was that the alien princess needed more in her life than getting revenge on her sister. She should get a hobby, something like knitting. I'd heard it could be relaxing.

"So we all want to be rich and we're opposed to the Teen Titans" I summarised.

This was something at least.

"What's a Titan anyway" Mammoth then asked rather randomly.

I could answer that question.

"The Titans were member of a mythological race of super beings" I explained "They were giants and also gods".

This information made Gizmo laugh.

"So those snot-lickers go around calling themselves 'young gods'" the tiny terror said.

Well that was one way of looking at it.

"Yeah" I confirmed.

He was right, it was rather arrogant when you thought about it

"You know we were thinking of changing our name since there's six of us" Jinx was now saying "Did these Titans in the myths have any enemies?".

Given that the Greek gods were real in the universe it struck me that the Titans in those stories could be just as factual.

"They were overthrown by Zeus and his brothers, and they were called the Olympians" I told the pink haired girl "But I don't think we should call ourselves that".

No one liked the sound of that name so we moved on.

"We need to be the something team or maybe the something squad" Gizmo then suggested "Like the Spider Squad, because we're scary".

I gave it some thought.

"The Spectre Squad" was my idea

No one thought that was quiet right.

"Or maybe the Shadow Squad" I then offered.

I waited for their reactions to that suggestion, and they were positive.

"Okay so we are now the Shadow Squad, and we all want to get rich" I said as everyone nodded, even that Kid Wicked guy "Therefore I think that we should rob some place so I can see how well you lot work together".

That seemed a good place to start.

"And if the Titans turn up we can fight them, but if things go wrong we'll need to run" I said to the group "I don't want to have to break anyone out of jail".

The last time I'd had to break Mammoth, Jinx, and Gizmo out of prision I'd gotten shot. I did not want to repeat that experience.

Everyone other than Blackfire was on board with my ideas.

"Why would we run away?" she asked "We outnumber them, and I'd like to make Starfire beg for her life. I won't kill her, but I want her toplead for mercy, and to admit that I am so much better than her".

As long as they didn't hurt Raven I didn't much care about the rest. Although I would miss being able to annoy Robin.

"Listen, even if we could beat the Titans then they'd just call the Justice League and those guy would come deal with us" I pointed out "So no killing anyone unless I say so. But feel free to smack them around, just don't do any real harm and we do need an escape plan".

That was the goth kid banged his fist a few times on the table in order to get our attention. Once he had it he started to explain how he could make our lives a lot easier. The explanation involved miming, but I got the gist of what he was trying to tell us.

"You can do that?" I asked the mute crook.

He nodded in reply.

"Okay then" I said "Everyone suit up. Tonight the Shadow Squad commits its first crime".

Hopefully it would go well, but if it didn't I could always go back to being a lone wolf.

(Line Break)

 ** **Museum of Unnatural History – Jump City****

Even when compared to what most people would consider to be 'fictional' versions of planet Earth, the DC Verse was very strange. Which it had every right to be as it was an existence full of strange aliens, high tech robots, magic users and strange beings from other dimensions. Such as myself.

Because of all that weirdness there were things that didn't really fit in with what people saw as natural. Such things as the bones of ancient creatures that should never have existed outside story books, odd bits of otherworldly technology, and magical items of great power that no one remembered how to use.

Most of the time these oddities ended up in private collections, or locked up in government controlled warehouses along with the remains of dissected extra-terrestrials. The stuff that no one else cared about ended up at places like the Museum of Unnatural History.

However while most of the stuff at museum wasn't at all dangerous, that didn't mean it was all worthless. Plus now and again the odd item of real power somehow ended up in a display case. This was one of those times.

Being able to sense strong magic meant tat I was able to tell what was worth taking here, and a diamond I could see happened to be putting out some feel good vibes.

"Where's X?" I heard Blackfire whisper.

I was in fact very close by. I just happened to be using my suits cloaking device to make myself unseen.

"Maybe he chickened out" Gizmo suggested.

With the press of a button on my belt I made myself appear right next to midget of mischief.

"Please call me 'Red-X'" I requested after everyone had finished being surprised.

Only the alien princess was amused by my antics.

"Sure thing," Blackfire said with a wink "Handsome"

I just sighed.

"Let's get this over with" Jinx then said.

Mammoth reached for the diamond but only after Jinx had used her powers to cause the case's alarm to malfunction.

After the case was lifted, Mammoth picked the large stone up with one hand and held it up to the dim light.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Jinx said with a gleam in her eyes "If a guy got me something like that I'd be so _grateful_ ".

I might have replied, but that was when the alarms went off.

"What the...?" Mammoth muttered.

Gizmo must have missed something, and since I wanted to know what it was, so we could avoid such mistakes in the future I changed to night-vision and had a look around. The cameras that had been moving around were now all pointing at us. Someone had noticed that we'dlooped the feed and they had sounded the alarm.

"Okay kids remember the plan" I said

While Gizmo had made one mistake everything else was going fine, at least so far, and we had prepared for this.

"And if anyone so much as looks at Raven funny you will regret it" I then promised.

Rather than answer, they all got ready for a fight. Kyd Wyykd had some funky powers and one of those was that somehow he could become part of the shadows, or possible he phased into the walls.

I really didn't understand how his talents worked and since he couldn't talk he couldn't explain. At some point I'd get him to write down exactly what he could do, but that could wait until later.

While the mute on the team did his shadow thing. Blackfire headed for the roof so that when the time came she could attack from above while the rest of us fought on the ground.

"And remember I get bird-boy" I then reminded everyone.

As Mammoth, Gizmo, Jinx and I headed for the doors the pink haired girl moved in close to me.

"Do you hate him?" my ex-girlfriend asked "Did he do something to you?"

I smiled under my mask.

"Not really" I replied "I'm just trying to drive him nuts for the fun of it".

Screwing with Robin's head had become a hobby for me.

Minutes later, the Titan's arrived and made their showy entrance. Seconds later I was the one to give the order to attack.

"Shadow Squad, Strike!".

(Line Break)

(Lemon Ahoy)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

Some hours later my new team and celebrated our victory. We'd actually forced the Teen Titans to retreat and we'd gotten away with the crime.

Granted we'd outnumbered the heroes and a couple of us had hidden which they hadn't expected, but still the Titans were a great crime fighting team so even just driving them off hadn't been easy.

To make things even better no one had been badly hurt. We'd just worn the heroes down until Robin had ordered them to 'fallback and regroup'. Which had been code for 'run away because we're losing'.

"We kicked their asses!" Mammoth rejoiced.

Truth be told it hadn't been that one sided. No one had attacked Raven, because they were more scared of me than her, and if not for the fact that I'd kept bird-boy too busy for him to coordinate his team that might have made enough of a difference to turn the tide.

"And finally made Starry beg like a bitch" Blackfire cheered.

The alien princess was grinning like the cat that had just eaten the canary and had been able to wash it down with creme.

She was drinking like a fish. Had I actually paid for any of the booze I would have worried about the expense.

"I think you broke Robin's leg" the alien princess was now saying "That means he's out of hero business for awhile"

Then she frowned as a thought ran through her booze filled mind.

"Why didn't you make him un...conscious?" she then asked.

Mostly it was because people who had passed out couldn't hear you insult them. Which took the fun of it.

"Because I wanted to hurt him psychologically" I explained "His confidence will be shot now. But soon he'll get over it, then the next time we met he'll fight me better and I'll have to keep up. It's like training".

That went over the heads of the drunk people, and since I'd been drinking I doubted that my words had been as elegant as they sounded in my booze filled head.

"Best. Day. Ever!" shouted Gizmo just before collapsed on the couch

The small guy could not hold his liquor.

"Kinda wished we'd gotten to keep the diamond" Jinx commented with a sigh.

Hearing that made me smile.

"Well then, do I have a surprise for you" I said.

With a big grin on my face I tossed her the diamond and with impressive hand eye coordination she caught it.

"How did you...?" she asked.

While I didn't care enough to kick her out of the room I wasn't exactly eager to start shagging her again. I'd boinked Jinx, but she'd never killed me so I still liked her, and she liked me.

"Why don't you want me?" she asked.

Then she pouted and wrapped her hands lovingly around my leg.

"I don't like people who shoot me in the back" I told her.

Which in my view was a perfectly valid reason not to get naked around someone. Oddly that had hurt more, emotionally at least, than being stabbed in the front.

"You could punish me" she offered "Be really rough. Hurt me, show me I'm a bad girl. Make me your whore".

Given where her head was she could see that I was eager to do that. Even the suit didn't hide it.

"Is that a yes?" Blackfire inquired with a purr.

Thankfully for her it was, and for me this was revenge. I pulled her over my lap and started to spank her.

"Yes yes spank me more. I want it" Blackfire loudly informed me as I whooped her backside.

Encouraged I went on spanking Blackfire some more giving her what she wanted. Soon she was yelping in what I guessed to be a mixture of pain and enjoyment.

"YES! That's it stud, make me your bitch" Blackfire requested.

She really knew how to make me want her.

"You asked for it sweet thing" I warned her.

I went on to spank Blackfire some more, and while I tried to actually hurt she just seemed to get off on it.

"Oh yes I've been a bad girl!" she called out I'm all yours, do whatever the fuck you want to me".

My hand gave out before she did so I decided to do something else. I began to lightly and then not so lightly pinch her nipples, while moving my other hand lower down her sex. She wasn't in her metal armour so it was easy to access these areas.

Then when I got my hand inside her underwear I slid my middle finger into her pussy, an which caused her to raise her upper-body off the bed.

"Oh!" she moaned.

I gave her a fingering that could have been a lot more gentle than it was, but she didn't seem to mind my rough treatment.

"Do you want to cum?" I asked after a while.

Blackfire nodded so I told her to put her feet on the bed and to spread her legs. She did and that allowed me to pull down her thong down and get better access to her cunt.

Then I started using my fingers to explore the inside of her vagina. While Blackfire squirmed and moaned I spent my time trying to find out if she had a G-spot.

All the stimulation is too much as Blackfire let out a big"ah!" and orgasmed so loud I was starting to think that my hangover had kicked in a few hours early.

Thankfully I was soon distracted from that by the alien princess trying to take off my clothes and then her own.

"Let me return the favour" she then said.

Her tongue came out of her mouth and started licking all around the head of my cock. Then Blackfire closed her eyes and used all her mouth to pleasure me before going back to using her tongue. I guessed she was trying to figure out what felt best.

She eventually settled on bobbing her head up and down at an increasing pace, and when she stopped as I was disappointed to say the least.

"I need you inside me now!'' Blackfire said with a mad gleam in her alien eyes

It seemed like the thing to do and soon I got that part of my body inside her.

"How does my it feel?" I asked

Right now I badly wanted to hear her talk dirty.

"So…good, so hard…" she moaned

"Do you want me to cum in your pussy?" I then asked of her "Do you want me to fill you with my cum?"

Her answer wasn't long in coming and by the sounds of things neither was she.

"Yes, Please!" she shouted out.

I thrust all the way inside Blackfire and held myself there, not moving as she clenched her eyes shut and quivered. Which felt great as her whole body vibrated for a second.

Then I couldn't but fuck her hard. She was soaking wet so it was easy to move my cock deeper inside her with each thrust.

I kept doing this for as long as I could, but before long as I was filling with my seed, and by the sounds of things she very much enjoyed it.

Once I was done I rolled off her, and tried to bury us both under the covers. As I did I saw that Blackfire had already fallen asleep. I soon joined her.


	5. Chapter 5

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 5**

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

The Titans were within their Tower's common room, and they were not in the best of moods. Cyborg was sulking as he played one of his games. Beast Boy was sitting in the kitchen while Starfire cut his hair in an attempt to get rid of some of the goop Red-X had gotten in his hair. Robin was on the computer looking for something. As for Raven she was sitting in a lotus position doing nothing at all it seemed.

"Dude, X kicked our butt" the meta-human whined" AND he messed with my hairdo, AGAIN!"

Raven knew that BB was incorrect, so she decided to defend her boyfriend and correct the shape shifter.

"Technically, it was Robin who did it the first time" Raven reminded them all with a slight smirk on her face.

The first Red-X at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"True, but now the newer Red-X has gone from minor thief, to a serious threat" Robin said with a frown while glaring at the limb that the crook had almost broken.

The damage wasn't nearly as bad as it look. The Boy Wonder was a fast healer, and Beast Boy's hair would grow back. However the physical injuries were of far less concern than the psycological ones. Being defeated in battle had made all the Titans depressed.

"Wasn't he always a threat?" Cyborg asked.

Raven would have liked to have pointed out that Red-X had never been a threat. At least not when compared to most of their foes.

"Before now he wasn't working with the H.I.V.E" Robin said.

All the Titans thought this was odd given that Red-X had never struck them as a team player.

"I need some coffee" the Titans leader then said before walking into the kitchen were the desired caffeine could be found.

"Friend, Beast Boy please stop with the squirming!" Starfire pleaded "It is most difficult to be cutting this sticky red stuff from your hair while you are moving!".

Sadly for her the young meta-human was too upset to sit still.

"It'll be weeks before it grows back!" BB said.

Starfire gave up on her impossible mission and stormed off to her room. Raven, for reasons of her own, decided to follow.

"We need to talk" the part demon told her team mate when they were alone.

Starfire was surprised to say the least, but not for long as she soon figured out what the magic user might want to talk about.

"What is the matter Friend Raven?" the princess from another planet asked the part demon" Did something happen between you and your friend who is a boy?"

Raven resisted the urge to talk about her date. Sharing that sort of information wasn't her thing, not that she needed as all her team mates had been there. At least at the start.

"No he and I are just fine " Raven assured.

This was good news in Starfire's mind

"I am most joyous to hear that." Star replied

Raven decided to get this discussion moving.

"Listen" she urged "I have a plan that might solve our problems with Red-X once and for all".

Starfire listened intently, and as the plan was explained she began to smile.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

I felt someone try to nudge me into awakening, and for a moment I thought it was Blackfire as she had been in bed with me when I'd gone to sleep, but when I opened my eyes I saw that was Raven standing over me.

She was in her Titan outfit so for a moment I thought her group had somehow broken into the tower, but given that she seemed happy to be here I doubted that.

"What are you doing here Ray" I asked while checking to make sure that Blackfire wasn't anywhere in the room "Unless you've forgotten my friends are your enemies. Which means its dangerous for you to be here".

Not that I'd let anyone hurt her but I was worried about her being seen by the rest of Shadow Squad as that might led to them thinking that I'd betrayed them.

"I can take care of myself" Raven assured me "And this is important. I need your help".

Judging by her relaxed tone it wasn't anything urgent so I knew I had time to ask a question.

"How did you even find me?" I asked "I put up some wards".

One of my prizes from the tournament had been a book on enochian warding magic, which meant that nothing in this room could be seen remotely even by the gods. So no amount of magic should have allowed the purple haired girl to find me.

"I didn't get past the wards" she explained "I used a spell to guide me to you. It's easy to do because I have some of your DNA".

For a moment I was disturbed by that until I realised that she could have just taken a few hairs from my pillow back when we'd been sharing a room. Still it was a little odd.

"Listen, and don't ask any silly questions" Raven then said "Because I can't stay long".

Just because we were sort of a relationship, as much of one as we could have given our alliances. That didn't mean I had to do things for her, but I figured that she at least had the right to request something. As long as it didn't involve me getting out of bed for another hour or so.

"What do you want" I inquired.

Ray sat on the bed next to me before telling me anything further.

"The Titans have to go out of town for a few days" she informed me "I told Robin that I'd try and find someone to watch over the city, but he isn't just going to let Red-X into the tower".

Even if I had been willing to become Jump City's guardian for a couple of days. I didn't see anyway I could do that as Red-X as when wearing that suit I was a known villain, one who had just defeated the Titans. Albeit in a minor skirmish.

"But I have an idea" she said "Everyone saw us on a date so all I need to do is introduce you as a friend who has magical powers. You can do spells, right? More than just illusion stuff?".

My reply was a nod.

"Good so I take you to the Tower and tell the Titans that your a warlock I know from somewhere and that while you don't fight crime normally you're willing to keep an eye on things for me" she explained "Just tell Robin that your from the Hidden City, which is why you don't have any records".

I actually knew what the Hidden City was and where it was.

"That place in Turkey" I said before spotting a problem "What if he checks with Zantanna, she's from that city".

I could tell that Raven was impressed by my knowledge of such things.

"It's a big city" the Teen Titan explained "She can't know everyone from there and you'd have to use a hero name anyway so even if she does every family there Robin won't have a name to give her".

To me it sounded like a lot of trouble just to get Jump City a super powered babysitter.

"Can't someone from the League cover for you?" I asked while trying to make myself comfortable.

The League was expanding now that they had a fancy new Watchtower so there had be a super powered good guy who could spare some time.

"Not twenty-fours a day" Raven pointed out "They all have cities of their own to look after and lives to live".

I was going to say no, but sadly I was facing towards my sort of girlfriend and she was giving me a pleading look. Her eyes were making me feel like I was the only one in the world she could rely on. I had no idea how they could that, but they were making me feel things.

"Why do I get the feeling you will be the death of me" I said

If anyone in this dimension could get me killed it would be her.

"Oh don't be such a baby" the Titan chided "You're the Prince of Thieves".

Hearing that made me sigh.

"That's Robin Hood" I corrected.

When Raven handed me the morning paper I was proven wrong.

"Not any more" she said "That's your title now".

The paper had in fact given me that title. Word had gotten around by me leading the Shadow Squad, and somehow they knew I was the leader. The reporter didn't mention that the Titans had retreated just that the battle had been fierce and that we'd taken a diamond.

"And if you do a good job then no one will mind if you hang around the Tower" Raven then said "Which means you could spend the night in my room. With me".

Well that was a strong incentive.

"Fine but this ends up with me getting exposed as Red-X I will make you suffer" I mock threatened while rolling over "My revenge will be swift. Mark my words and mark them well".

That made Raven laugh.

"If you come by this evening I'll make it worth your while" she then promised "Maybe I could do something sexy for you to say thanks".

When I turned around, intending to make a suggestion, I found she was already gone but the door hadn't opened.

"And I thought I was sneaky" I muttered to myself as I went back to sleep.

(Line Break)

 ** **Safe House – Jump City****

Rose Wilson put down her cup of coffee and went back to looking through the files that practically buried her desk.

She'd been able to gather a lot of information in a very short amount of time, and now she had to go through it all in order to figure out exactly what her father had been up to before he'd died.

She didn't even know how the man had been killed, not exactly. She did know who was to blame, but the details were unknown to her as she'd been off training when Slade had expired. Wintergreen knew more, but he was unwilling to tell her everything.

Lucky for her she was actually starting to get somewhere. Thanks to her father's records she knew that Slade Wilson had been diverting funds into different bank accounts and she knew who the money had gone to.

Some of the later payments had gone a former Teen Titan, who went by the name Terra, which suggested that she might have been a double or even triple agent and given that her power allowed her control the very ground it was almost certain she'd been involved Slade Wilson's death.

In Rose's mind this Terra had to have been working for the Titans the whole time, as part of some big plan to bring Slade down. It made sense as the Teen Titans had all been at the Steel Mill that night.

What she wanted to know now was if Red-X had been involved. He barely been around back when Rose had been living with her father and she had no clear memory of him so she had no idea if he might have also been working for the Titans, or if he'd been loyal to her father. This was because he'd vanished some weeks before Deathstroke's demise.

If he had been loyal back then he didn't seem to care much about Slade now as he'd done nothing to avenge his master's death. At least nothing fatal like Rose had planned. However he had taken command of a group of small time crooks who recently had defeated the Titans so it was possible that he a long term plan for payback.

Should this be the case then in Rose's view it would profit them both for her to ally with these super crooks, and if the Red-X wasn't after the Titans then that was okay too because he might willingly work for the young Miss Wilson if she paid him too.

There were other reasons to contact the newly crowned 'Prince of Thieves'. Slade had left him a large sum of money, perhaps only because the older Wilson hadn't updated his will in some months.

Regardless Rose intended to give the crook his inheritance even if would mean Red-X wouldn't be as tempted to work for her. But she wasn't too worried about that as people like him always wanted more than they had. If he hadn't he wouldn't be going around stealing diamonds.

Besides there were other ways to get a young man to do things a woman wanted, and that could led to fulfilling another wish of her late dear departed father.

It had been clear to Rose from the start that Slade Wilson had been trying to secure a legacy, and since he'd encouraged her to spend time with Red-X, she was also pretty sure that Deathstroke had wanted grandchildren.

That had not worked out because she'd never even gotten to spend time with the thief before he'd vanished. Yet Rose did want to give her father his legacy and having a child of her own was one way to do that. Deathstroke must have thought Red-X would be a suitable sperm donor.

Of course such would have to wait until the Teen Titans were dead, and in any case she was too young to be a mother, but it was something she would keep in mind for the future.

For now she needed to make contact with Red-X and to see if he could be useful to her. That would be simple enough as thanks to the morning paper she knew exactly who the thief cared about.

Now it was just a matter of setting up a meeting, and do that she needed to know a little more about this city. Which wasn't hard as she had all the information she needed right before her.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

When I'd finally gotten up I'd found that my Red-X suit was gone. When Blackfire had left my room she must have taken it as Jinx told me that it had somehow made its way into Gizmo's grubby mitts.

Then she had told me not to get mad as the tiny terror had a pathological need to tinker with things just as I had a strong desires to steal and annoy the Boy Blunder.

"So is the X-Suit in one piece?" I asked as I entered Gizmo's workshop.

The midget of mischief grinned and nodding his head enthusiastically, before presenting me with a briefcase.

"It's ready all right, I went with a full on overhaul and I improved the suit as much as I could" Gizmo told me.

Considering that he'd been drunk last night I couldn't imagine that he'd more than eight hours to work on it, but given that he could defy physics I wasn't very surprised.

"There was only so much I could do, because it was already so cool" the small scientist explained "So it still has most of the old features, but I was able to make them more efficient. Which means you won't use up as much energy as you used to".

That was very good as certain tricks this suit could perform drained the batteries too quickly for my liking, and there was only so much xenoithum in the world

"What about the rest of the suit?" I asked as I took it out of the case.

It felt slightly heavier than before, but that wasn't a big deal I was stronger than most people anyway so it would only be a matter of time before I adjusted to any changes enough so that it wouldn't be an issue

"Like you know the X-Suit is made of a special light weight bullet proof and fireproof material" Gizmo said "It's also insulated so you don't have to worry about electrical shocks and of course its waterproof".

I did indeed know all of this.

"What I added was a special coating that dampens body heat even better than before" the former H.I.V.E student said "So your practically invisible to anyone looking for you in infra-red".

I remembered that the Predator known as Orion hadn't been able to see me very well when I had my mask on.

"And since you did that magic thing you can't be seen by cameras anymore, but anyone with a motion sensor will still be able to find you. I think" Gizmo warned me.

That made sense as while the wards, that were sown into a layer of material inside the suit, would prevent things like cameras from seeing me they wouldn't help with motion sensors as those devices detected movement they didn't depend on seeing anything. The same could apply for any device that used sound to locate people such as Batman's sonar.

Still they were well worth having as I had them sown into all my clothes now, and while I didn't know for sure I was confident that they prevented me from being sensed by an empathic beings as well.

I'd tested this during my date the other day. However there was some doubt as I also knew that it was possible to sneak up on those who could feel emotions by remaining calm and relaxed. I had been in such a state of mind when sneaking up on Raven.

"Now I'm pretty sure that Cyborg has an inbuilt motion detector" Gizmo informed me "And I tested the infra red. You can't be seen directly but if you might leave a trail".

My suit couldn't completely shield my heat, because if it did it I'd ended up getting cooked inside it, so I would leave a small trail of heat where ever I went. But this wasn't a real problem as a good tracker would be able to follow my footprints much more easily.

"The mask still has inferred and night-vision" Gizmo was now saying "Now it also has ultraviolet which is really cool as it makes the eyes in your mask glow and you can see everything like you had a blacklight".

That was very cool as it meant that in the dark I would be able to see things that people normally couldn't. Like say stains or even fingerprints, there were even kinds of writing that could only be seen that way.

"That is very cool" I told the tiny person.

I found it hard to believe that he could all of that without altering the suit in any visible way. Yet the proof was before me.

"And I put in a scope, meaning you'll be able to zoom in on things" Gizmo went on to explain.

I had a feeling that these feature would come in handy in the future.

"Now the mouthpiece still has a synthesizer for your voice and a rebreather just in case you that Clown Freak the Joker, or that Scarecrow guy" I was informed "But it only filters out gas so don't go trying to breathe underwater. I could fit an air tank, but it would be heavy so unless your going out to sea don't bother carrying it around".

By the looks of things Gizmo had already built such a device, but it wasn't worth carrying around as I was a good swimmer. Also I couldn't die from drowning. I'd already found that out the hard way.

"Now check these out" my team mae then said while taking my gauntlets out of the case.

They were similar to ones worn by Batman, meaning they had odd shaped blades attached to them, and even cooler than that these ones were retractable. Which meant they were also a hidden weapon.

"Okay, why do I have these things on my gauntlets?" I asked.

By the sound of my voice the team's tech guy knew that I was simply curious nothing else.

"There called scallops, crude for brains" he said "They are razor sharp and they can cut through solid steel".

Now I was really impressed.

"The gauntlets can still electrocute people too" he then said.

Next he moved onto the knees. Which actually did look a little different now that I saw them close up.

"I added some protection to your knees in case someone tried to knock your legs out from under you" he told me.

While I'd heal any wound it was still better to avoid being hurt as if nothing else I didn't enjoy feeling pain.

"They also have a special stabilizer and bracer systems in place with the gauntlets to help you jump from high places without breaking your legs in the process" Gizmo explained.

I didn't need to verbally express how grateful I was for that cool feature, it was written all over my face.

"Last but not least we have the new belt!" Gizmo said as he grinned and pulled the said object out of the case

This Belt was ash-gray rather than black, however aside from that it looked exactly the same as the old one.

"With this I just added some nano-circuitry so your suit can repair itself. The nanobots are dump because there's no room inside them for computer memory, so I put that in the belt. Which means if you lose the belt the suit won't fix itself".

Since the suit required the belt in order to access all but the most basic of systems this wasn't an issue either.

"Everything else is the same" Gizmo finished "The teleporter and the cloaking device just use up less power that's all".

I put the suit back in the case. Then I thanked Gizmo as I left. However he didn't hear me as he'd passed out and I realised that he must not have slept at all last night since having a nap on the sofa.

With that in mind I turned off the light and slipped out the room without making any noise.


	6. Chapter 6

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 6**

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

"Raven, I'm sorry, but I have a bad feeling about this guy" Beast Boy said, while following Raven across living area "And after Terra I think we all need to be a bit more careful about who we hangout with".

At first the purple haired girl had been worried that her little green friend may have just be jealous, but given what had happened recently he did have a valid point.

"Beast Boy, it's nice of you to care" Raven said "But I'm sure he's not up anything bad".

Actually she was sure he was, she just didn't care about Red-X stealing things. She was willing to look past such things, to try to build a future for herself and her unborn child. She was sure that once the thief got a chance to see what being a hero was like he would want to change sides and live here in the tower with her.

"You have nothing to worry about" Raven assured the meta-human "He's never given me a reason to think he might hurt me".

In fact judging by recent experiences he was going out of his way to ensure that no one harmed her. That had made the battle between the H.I.V.E Five, or whatever it was the six of them were calling themselves now, somewhat strange as no one had attacked her.

"Alright, but I'll be watching him." Beast Boy said as he went back to playing video games with Cyborg.

With that done Raven went to find Starfire. She was in her room with playing with Silkie like the grub was some kind of baby rather a horrible drool machine. Which in that respect did make it a lot like a baby, only not as cute.

"Star, can we talk?" Raven asked her.

There was no chance of the alien princess saying no to girl talk.

"Of course Raven. What do you wish to talk about?" Starfire asked.

The part demon closed the door and sat down before saying anything.

"Well you know my plan to deal with Red-X" Raven said "He agreed to come to the Tower just like we discussed".

She had been about to say more, but she didn't get the chance.

"Raven, this is glorious! I am overjoyed for you! I cannot wait to meet him when he visits tomorrow! Starfire shouted.

The alien princess was aware that she had met Red-X before when he wasn't in his suit, she just couldn't remember it so for her this was like meeting Raven's boyfriend for the first time.

"Well, yeah, tomorrow you guys can meet" Raven confirmed before making a request "Listen I need you to be extra nice to him because the boys won't be and I don't want him scared off".

That would be Robin's job.

"Of course I will be nice to your friend who is a boy" Starfire assured "And I will not tell anyone that he is Red-X".

This was good.

"Thanks. I'll see you in the morning Starfire." Raven said as she walked out the door.

"Silkie, isn't this marvelous?" she heard Starfire say as she walked down the hallway.

Raven spent a moment wondering if she should have gotten someone else to help her with her scheme, but it was too late to change her mind.

(Line Break)

After Beast Boy had finished playing with Cyborg, he went to the training room which Robin spent a lot of time in.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" Robin said when he saw his friend's worried expression " I won't tell anyone. I promise".

The Boy Wonder not only knew what this talk would be about he had also been expecting it for some time.

"Okay so you, know Raven's new boyfriend" BB said after gathering his thoughts "I have a bad feeling about him".

Robin had his concerns to, but not because of anything the guy had done, but because of the actions of others. Malchior included.

"What about Raven?" the Boy Wonder then asked "She has something to do with this. I know she does".

If he wasn't already that colour then Tim Drake would be sure that BB would often turn green when Raven mention any guy.

"Alright, fine. I'm just jealous!" Beast Boy nearly yelled "I want to be the one with her. I've always loved her. I wanted to give her some time after what happened, but then some guy comes along and she falls for him!"

Thankfully Robin had prepared for this.

"You want her to be happy, right?" Robin asked of Beast Boy.

The meta-human nodded

"Yeah, and I don't want her to get hurt again." Beast Boy said.

Robin patted his friend's shoulder in a comforting way.

"Raven won't go out with you if she's seeing someone else, and she won't thank you if interfere with her life either" he said "So all you can do is be there for her if things go wrong".

That was all anyone could do.

(Line Break)

 ** **Rooftops – Jump City****

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Gizmo asked me.

Currently I and the rest Shadow Squad were standing on the of roof adjacent to the Waynetech building. I was now dressed in the improved X-Suit and I was looking forward to seeing what it could do.

"First of all, have you got the diagrams for this place?" I inquired

Gizmo pulled a small metal disc and when he pressed a button a hologram appeared which showed us the layout of the building.

"Nice work little buddy" I commented before getting back to the matter at hand "Now then, what about the security?".

While I did have some expertise with electronics, since I was very much into industrial espionage, my tiny team mate was far more skilled with this sort of thing.

"Near as I can tell the guards don't have a set route or any time table" Gizmo told me "But I can disable the cameras and the alarms by uploading a virus on their system. As for the phones I can reroute the landlines and Jinx had a scrambler so no one can make a call on their cell phones".

So that was hardware and the software sorted out, now we only had to worry the wetware, and of course getting into the building.

"Any skylights or vents we can access?" I asked while looking at the building "Cause otherwise I'm going to have to cut a hole in".

Which was time consuming and we were on the clock here. The sun was setting right now and since I had promised Raven that I would visit Titan Tower this evening I didn't have all night to complete this job.

I didn't know who the client was, but the person hiring us to steal the gadget Waynetech was working on was willing to pay a small fortune for it, and they'd paid half up front so failure was not an option here. Which meant this had to be done now or the gadget might be moved.

Thankfully for us the Titans recent defeat meant it was unlikely that they'd interfere, but even if they did I could handle it.

"No vents" the team's tech support said "Not ones big enough to crawl through, but the place has a skylight; it's on the roof. The problem is the security office is on the first floor and I need you to hook me into the system before you barf-snifers hit R&D labs".

Some systems were accessible from the outside and some weren't. At times this wasn't an issue, but Waynetech had very good security, in fact the company had invented some of their own defences. Which made this more tricky.

"Kyd" I said "Do you think you can sneak in, get to the main hub, and disable the security office?" I inquired of the mute.

He just nodded in reply.

"Gizmo, give him one of those things you need hooked up to the computer" I ordered

He did just that.

"Jinx and I will be on the top floor. Gizmo you stay here and let us know when Kyd has taken out the security office and you've hacked into the system" I was now saying. "Mammoth I want you to stay here and make sure no one bothers Gizmo. Blackfire get somewhere high and keep an eye on things. If you see the cops or any heroes let everyone know".

Since I couldn't carry anyone when teleporting I used a zipline to get Jinx and I across to the other roof. When we got there I took a moment to admire her change in outfit.

"Steel capped knee high boots, super tight leather trousers and a tiny top that shows what you got" I said to Jinx "But I miss the skirt".

The magic girl smiled at me.

"Well I had to wear the sexy pants" she told me "cause I'm not wearing any underwear".

I had to ask about that.

"And why aren't you wearing any knickers?"

She smiled again.

"Why don't you take a look and find out" she suggested.

I would have questioned her more on that subject but I had no time for that.

"Red" I heard Gizmo over the comm built into my mask "Kyd got me into the secure systems and I found our prize. It's only two levels below you. Kyd will met you there... I guess".

Given that Wyykd was mute we couldn't talk to him over the radio. Well we could talk to him, he just wouldn't be able to answer.

"Blackfire" I then said into the radio "Any sign of trouble?".

Given that this was the Waynetech building I wouldn't have been surprised if Robin already knew we were here. After all I'd run into him in the old Waynetech building.

"Its all good, handsome" she replied.

That was encourging to hear.

"Is the way clear, little buddy?" I then asked our groups tech wizard.

He confirmed that it was, but as it turned out it wasn't. Gizmo had been able to defeat the electronic defences but he couldn't stop the guards from being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Freeze!" a man in uniform shouted out.

He never even got the chance to do anything as I teleported right behind him and knocked him out. Then Jinx and I stuffed him into a closest before moving down two floor and meeting up with Wyykd.

 _'Bout time you got here'_ was what I imagined Kyd would have said should he have been able to talk.

"So… how are we gonna get in?" Jinx asked when we found the secure door that bared away.

I reached for something in my belt and then I attached to the door. The little device hacked the lock and soon we inside the R&D department.

"Keep going the device is in a vault nearby" Gizmo informed me.

This part of the building was filled with all sorts of odd gadgets, but our focus was on the vault.

"My turn" said Jinx.

As planned she used her powers to open the vault. Which was loud, but also effective.

"Alright little buddy, we are in" I then told Gizmo.

The thing we were looking for was a sort of robot arm, only it was nothing like the clunky ones used to build cars. Someone could have done brain surgery with such a fine tool.

"When you grab it you will have a limited time to get out" the team's tech support warned "I can't disable the pressure plate so take the device and get out of their snot-lickers".

Thankfully we were able to get out to the roof without any trouble and seconds after that Jinx and I had used the zip line to get to the other building. Kyd vanished into the darkness and got there ahead of us.

"We got the goods, and not a cop or Titan in sight" I said once we had regrouped "So lets get out of here".

(Line Break)

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

Later that evening I was at Titan Tower, and I felt more like I was off to meet Raven's parents rather than her friends.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" I asked as Raven when she met me in the lobby of the Tower "I mean even if they don't figure out that I'm X I just don't think they'll let me look after an entire city".

Ray had decided that I would use the name Gothic, because that was the best thing we'd been able to come up with between us and because it was online handle. Plus I was dressed as a goth so it worked.

"You'll do fine" the Titan said softly "Just remember you're a Warlock from the Hidden City and a Homo-magi who I met at a book store that sells real spell books".

That seemed simple enough, at least for this messed up world.

"We've been dating for a few weeks now" she went on to say "and while you're not a hero you don't mind keeping an eye on things while we're gone and you have magical powers to help you do that".

That was when she turned to look at me.

"You can do more than basic illusion spells right?" she asked.

Rather than reply verbally I used the ring given to me by Seeker, to send a fireball at the wall. The scorch mark left behind was proof that it was no mere illusion.

"Yeah that works" my sort of girlfriend said.

Fireballs were a common bit of magic so while I had used that magical attack before it shouldn't expose me as Red-X.

"Oh Starfire does know because..."

Raven stopped then as if she was trying to phrase her words correctly.

"We've talked a lot about what happened when the Master of Games held us captive" she told me "She doesn't remember your face, but she does know that your Red-X. But the guys don't have a clue.

Once she had finished talking we headed into the lift and started going up.

"Why do the five of you have so much space?" I then asked.

The Tower was huge, and I didn't doubt that it had a big basement too.

"When Robin set things up he planned for a big team" Ray explained "There's lots of sidekicks and young heroes out there. The idea was they'd come here, but that didn't work out".

I knew that there was another group of Teen Titans out east and there was talk of there becoming a southern team as well, but that was only a rumour going around.

"Try to relax" Ray said as the lift doors opened.

The room we walked into was occupied by all the other Titans, and I felt like I'd just walked into a den of hungry wolves.

"Hello, Raven's friend who is a boy" Starfire greeted before hugging me.

I had no idea why she was so happy to see me, but I didn't question as that would have required being able to fill my lungs. Also it would be nice if my feet could touch the ground.

"Star, put him down" Raven ordered "He needs to breathe".

It took me a moment to recover from the ordeal of Starfire's hugs.

"Hello" I then said to everyone else.

Since they'd all seen me making out with their team mate not that long ago I wasn't surprised that they were a little awkward around me.

"So what qualifies you look after our city while we are gone?" Robin rather aggressively asked to know.

Now I felt I was guest staring on _Dragon's Den._

"I was under the impression I was doing you guys a favour not apply for a job" I said to the boy wonder.

He didn't seem to like the me I was now anymore than Red-X. Which bothered me more than I would have liked.

"We can't leave this place in this hands of amateur" the hero went on to say.

Now I felt really insulted.

"Not everyone wants to show off their special powers all the time, kid" I said "But if you insist I could give you a demonstration".

My offer was accepted and we all headed down to the training room where there was space for such things.

"You chose the weapon" Robin told me.

At first I desired to use a staff, however I knew that Bird Boy would be tipped off should I wield that weapon. So instead I chose a basic sword. I wasn't as good with a two sided blade as I was with a one sided blade, but I didn't need to be as I only had to show the Boy Blunder that I could fight. Plus the swords here were all wood anyway, so even if I did make a mistake it wouldn't be lethal.

To my surprise Robin chose the same weapon and without warning he then lunged forward at me. I grinned then as I span my sword and soon our blades met combat. He'd been trying to scare me not hit me.

When Batman's sidekick backed off I span my blade in order to give myself a chance to get used to both the weight and the grip of the blunted weapon.

Robin then jumped and slashed at me, bringing his sword down which I easily blocked then I used my strength to shove him back. The Boy-Wonder flipped back and landed in a crouch. He was showing off how acrobatic he was.

The hero then swung his sword at me and I quickly used my blade to block that move and then I kicked him in the chest, knocking him back. He hadn't expected me to do that so he'd been caught off-guard.

I was actually disappointed. Robin's skill with the sword was minor. All he knew was to swing the thing and block. Clearly the Dark Knight had left a gap in his student's eduction.

"You do know how to fight, don't you?" I asked, trying to sound innocent "I don't think you've ever used real weapon"

Robin start to glare at me while slowly crouching down low with his sword held firmly in both hands at his side. He looked like he was about to pounce and since I sae it coming I was able to move out of the way when he did move.

He then came out with more style than I had expected so I was forced to defend myself. I now understood that he'd been keeping this simple either for my sake so as not to discourage me, or because he'd wanted to surprise me.

So I decided to kick things up just a notch. I sent a fireball at Robin's feet, and while the magical attack did knock him off his feet the young hero turned into a roll and he was soon standing up again.

Then he attacked me with unexpected fierceness as he dropped his sword and came with his martial arts. I was forced to let go off my sword, and I got a small taste of what it was like to fight Robin without getting to wear the Red-X suit. It was everything I could do just to block and avoid his blows, and he didn't give me a second to counter attack.

So it no surprise that I soon ended up on flat on my backside.

"STOP!" I then heard Raven shout "I think you've proved point, Robin".

If this had all been some sort of alpha male rubbish then I was going to be very miffed.

"I needed to know if the city was in safe hands" Robin told his friend.

Raven was not soothed by those words.

"That's not an excuse for beating up my boyfriend" she said.

While I was in some pain all that went away when she said the word 'boyfriend' I wanted to get up and runaway. I was Red-X I didn't do proper romantic relationships I had sexual partners and that was it.

With that in mind it was tempting to expose who I really was, and ruin this whole thing, but if I did that then I'd never get the run of the Tower. Besides getting to play hero for a while would be an amusing diversion.

"So did I pass the audition?" I asked while getting off the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 7**

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

When I woke up and found myself on the couch inside the Tower, this made me very happy because it meant that weird cowboy thing had all just been a dream. Which explained perfectly why none of it made no sense, and why it had ended so suddenly.

As my vision cleared I looked up the screen I'd be looking at before falling asleep and saw that I'd been studying Control Freak's file.

I'd never actually met the guy I'd just dreamt that I had. This was good as it meant I didn't have to track him down and murder him for sending me into some sort of cowboy film.

Also there was an old western on the TV, that made sense too. My dream had just been my brain using stuff around me to help me deal with the news I'd been given. It had just been my subconsciousness, nothing else.

The only part that didn't add up was the part of my dream when the demon Scath or Scarth or whatever had said something. It was fading now, but I knew it involved a gem and the end of mortal life.

For a second I had the horrible thought that the diamond I'd given to Jinx's was going to end the world, but I dismissed that as I knew the jewel had good magic in it not bad.

Besides I had the feeling this 'gem' was a not literally a stone because it had been forged in something evil. Which made me wonder if I was going to have to go and throw something in Mount Doom in order to save the world.

Then I remembered why I'd been trying to distract myself with TV and computer files. I'd been doing that because Raven had told me in message she left on the Titan's computer that she was pregnant, and that she wanted a proper relationship with me.

Which was why I was even here. Clearly the clever girl had wanted me to see what it was like to live as a hero in the hopes that I might forget about being Red-X and join the Titans as a warlock/fighter. I was mad about it, but I also admired her for being so cunning.

Of course I had no right to be angry for her not telling me everything, because I wasn't telling her everything either. I was shagging two other girls, and I'd never come clean about working for Slade.

Not that it really mattered as I had no intention what so ever of joining the Titans. I was no hero, so I was not going to live in this tower and fight my friends.

I'd provide for the kid in terms of money, there was no doubt of that, but I was not going to play happy families. But I would still do my best to be there should my child ever need their father.

The problem with me deciding this was that Raven seemed to think I was her boyfriend despite the fact that I'd repetitively told her that we had no future together.

Perhaps in the past she'd understood that, but getting pregnant had understandable filled her with a strong desire to be with the father of her unborn child. Which was perfectly natural.

Also it wasn't hard to imagine that Raven might think I'd be a good husband and father because back when she'd been turned into a little girl I'd taken care of her. Sadly that wasn't the case as I had no desire to raise a child. I couldn't given how I lived my life.

Thinking that led me to consider early retirement. I couldn't join the good guys because the likes of Robin would never accept me should he learn that I was Red-X even though I had helped the Titans out a few times. But I could just put away the suit and get a normal job.

Not that I wanted to, in fact the idea chilled me to my bones, but really I had no choice if I wanted my kid to be part of my life.

Then I realised that it wasn't really up to me. Raven was the mother so it was up to her what happened to the baby. She'd decided how the kid would be raised.

I'd never separate a baby from their mother unless I had a good reason for thinking the kid was in danger and I couldn't imagine Ray harming any child.

Not that it was an option in any case as I didn't exist legally speaking in this world, so I couldn't exactly go to child services for help. Besides I wasn't exact a good role model for kid.

I then spent a few moments coming up with a plan to go back in time and warn the me at the tournament to use a condom. There had even been some in the room. But I wasn't willing to risk damaging the time line just because I had problems.

Which meant I was truly fucked because unless Raven had an abortion or miscarried, and I didn't want either of those things to happen, then I was going to be a father.

"Hello" a voice then said.

I literally jumped off the couch, and then I got ready to do battle but as it turned out there had been no reason for me to be alarmed.

"Oh hi" I said to Shayera Hol.

While she wasn't the exactly the last person I'd expected to see here she had rated pretty far down the list.

"When I heard that the Titans had someone watching the tower for them I got curious, and when I saw it was you I thought I'd come and say hi" the heroine explained "I never got the chance to say thank you for what you did for Grundy".

Since I wasn't fully awake I decided to get some coffee. It would help make sure that I was actually talking to Shayera Hol rather than a very realistic delusion brought on by a recent lapse into insanity.

"You look like you just got out of the grave yourself" the winged woman was now saying.

It struck me then I did need to talk to someone, and Shayera knew me well enough and she only had positive opinions of me so she might actually be able to offer me moral support. If she hadn't been sulking the entire time at Fate's we might even have been friends by now.

"I just found out that Raven is pregnant" I said.

Shayera at that point decided she needed coffee too, and while she poured herself a cup I went looking for snacks.

"Raven knows your Red-X, right?" Shayera inquired "Fate told me he gave you those special magic crystals".

She'd never needed one as she'd met me after I'd made my memory altering wish.

"Yeah she knows" I confirmed "And Starfire knows too, but only because Ray told her. They planned to get me here. I think they want me to give up being Red-X".

Shayera spent a moment thinking about what I'd just said before speaking her own thoughts.

"Would it be so bad if you did give up the suit?" she asked "Not many people even know your Red-X so it would be easy for you to start again as a hero even, and then it wouldn't matter about your past. I betrayed the League and they still let me go on missions".

I felt a strong desire to say something about her sorry situation.

"You saved the world" I pointed out "You put the needs of another race before your own to save billions lives. That's wasn't the action of a traitor, that was truly heroic".

If I'd been the choice between letting a load of aliens die in order to save Earth from an invasion and saving the aliens, I don't think I'd have done the right thing.

"That's sweet of you to say" said the Thanagarian "But the real issue is that I betrayed the League and spied on them. The fact that I saved the world might be why they lack me back in but I lost the trust of my friends and no one deed can earn that trust back".

I hadn't thought of it that way, but she'd never done anything bad me so I couldn't understand how the League felt. My feelings were all good towards her because immortal or not I wouldn't have survived the planet being crushed into some kind of singularity.

"And don't change the subject" the alien warrior demanded "I didn't come down here to talk about me".

It was now clear to me that she did want to be friends, or maybe she just felt sorry for me. I'd take the pity that was all she had to offer, although some advice would be nice.

"Okay I'll answer your question" I said, giving in

Before I spoke on that subject I started to munch on what I hoped was something Raven had wanted to enjoy eating as I badly needed some sort of revenge for her manipulations.

"I am Red-X" I told her "Before I got that suit I was just another student at the H.I.V.E academy. No one even noticed me, and while that was by design when I became Red-X I was suddenly popular and I even got myself a hot new girlfriend"

Well Jinx was a bit freaky looking, but once you got past the odd skin colour and the strange hair style you found a remarkable young woman, and she fun between the sheets. But I wasn't going to mention any of that.

"More than that I was the guy who took on the Titans and got away every time" I then added "When I put on that suit there's nothing I can't do and people respect me".

The papers called me the 'Prince of Thieves' for a reason. Everyone who isn't in power always loves a rebel.

"And I'm too young to settle down" was what I said next "I've only just started. I've been put in charge of a team and I think we could be the best at what we do".

Shayera again took time to mull over my words before she spoke.

"But you have a big responsibility now" the woman pointed out "You have to think of your kid first and foremost".

I'd been think of little else. Heck I'd even been dreaming weird shit because of it.

"So that means I should change my entire life and get into a relationship with someone I'm not in love with?" I asked her.

Perhaps it should work that way, but I wasn't in love with Ray. That might change should I live with her, or at least see on a regular bases but I couldn't be sure of that.

"Well maybe the first part" Shayera said.

She was right. Everything was going to change. I could still run away from this, but that wasn't something I was willing to do.

On the other hand if I'd been meant to be a responsible member of society I wouldn't keep getting a rush every time I committed a crime and got away with it.

"At least you don't have to worry about it now" the alien woman reminded me "The baby hasn't been born yet. You have time to get things sorted and if you want you can go out and do stupid things, and then settle down".

She was also right about that. I had a few chances left to be Red-X. I had made no commitments to Raven so I was still free. At least until she asked for my help and there wasn't much I could do right now since she was the one carrying the baby.

"I'm going to get some booze" I decided "Then I'm going to drunk myself into oblivion".

This was a great plan, at least in my mind.

"I don't think that's such a good idea" Shayera advised "There could be a big emergency at any moment".

There was simply no part of me that cared.

"Well then you'll have to join me to make sure I don't drink too much" I told the former Hawkgirl.

Or she could leave. The choice was hers.

"I can see this ending badly" she said.

Her concerns were not shared by me.

(Line Break)

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

A loud noise blasted me into the state of being awake, and it made my brain scream out as the sensation brought me a lot of pain.

In order to end the torment I leaned over and slammed my fist into the machine that controlled the alarms.

Then once my eyes were working I looked at the screen to discover that it was the middle of the day and that some guy called Mumbo Jumbo had escaped the local lockup.

"Are we under attack?" a voice then asked.

For the second time in a 24 hour period Shayera Hol made me leap into the air due to surprise.

"You're naked!" I said.

She had blanket over certain parts of her, however there wasn't enough material to give any real modesty as half the cover was still on the floor.

"We had sex" she informed either me or herself "Oh that's not good".

I did not recall this so I concluded that her race must not have to worry about the whole memory loss thing when they drank. Although the impaired judgement issue was common to both species it seemed.

"Did we use a condom?" I asked.

I was worried that we hadn't, and past experiences had taught me that it was important to use one.

"No" she told me "But don't worry my people have mating cycles and I'm not on one right now so you're safe".

Well that was something at least. I did not want to met an upset Green Lantern.

"Raven is going to kill me" Shayera then said as she stood up.

I spent a moment admiring her ass before she realised what I was doing and she used the sheet to try to cover up.

"Its a bit late now" I told her "I've seen it".

Shayera was not amused by my comment.

"This never happened" she insisted "and we will never get together for drinks again. No we never spend time alone. If we met again we make sure people are around us. Sober people".

Well there went that friendship.

"Which ways the bathroom?" the Justice League member then asked.

After giving her directions I started to get dressed and then found some orange juice so that I get the taste of stale drink out of my mouth. Then I went and used the facilities, and when I got back I assume Shayera had already gone. So I cleaned up the empty bottles and once I was done with that I remembered the whole crime alert issue.

I would have gotten more information but the building rang and it took me a moment to realise that the computer that issued the crime alerts was also had Skype.

"You look awful" Raven said as her huge face appeared on the screen.

My handover was just starting to fade when Starfire decided to say something to me.

"Good morning!" the alien shouted "How are you Friend Raven's Friend who is a boy?".

I decided not to lie.

"My head hurts" I admitted.

Since I'd cleaned up there was no evidence of heavy drinking they naturally assumed I'd been in a fight.

"What happened?" Ray asked in concern "Did someone hurt you".

Someone had. The person just happened to me.

"It's self inflicted" I told her "And don't worry I'll be fine. I heal fast".

She seemed confused now, so I changed to subject before she asked me to explain what I had just told her.

"Mumbo Jumbo escaped custody" I informed the two Titans "So I have to go catch him".

I was already looking for the off switch, or at least the mute button.

"Do you need help?" was Raven's next question "I can come back".

That would be a very bad thing as there might still be naked woman somewhere around here.

"I have my own team" I reminded the purple haired girl "and I can handle a magician".

With that I closed the Skype and looked around for my staff/spear. Brining it here had been risky but it was made of Nth metal so it would be handy if I was facing magic.

Then for some reason I remember that Slade hadn't given me this staff it had in fact been a reward from the Traveller for defeating a xenomorph. I'd forgotten that for some reason, but to be fair to myself there was a lot going on my life these days.

Weirdly that got me thinking about the things I'd done with Raven while we'd shared that room, and something struck me as not making sense.

One time, when we'd been messing around one evening I'd spanked her and it had hurt her despite the fact that it had been impossible to harm anyone outside of the matches. That made no sense, but there was no way for me to figure it out now and these random thought were just distractions that I could afford right now.

However that didn't stop me from wondering what had happened to the tattoos I'd gotten in Gotham City. I'd gotten wards inked on to me that should have made me invisible to cameras, but they were gone now and I'd only just realised that.

Something had gotten rid of them, but as odd as that was it wasn't what worried me. What did concern me was that I could only now remember getting them.

My theory was that my wish had altered the past, or at least my memories of it in order to make everyone forget I was Red-X. That was weird and I couldn't understand why my memories had returned now.

Then I did because I found the shattered remains of a crystal on the floor. I must have broken it sometime last night. Maybe while I was having that odd dream, it would have contributed the strangeness.

"Do you need any help?" Shayera asked.

She was no longer naked, much to my disappointment and by the looks of things she'd taken the time to shower.

"No I'll be fine" I assured her.

Then I felt the urge to say something about what we'd done last night.

"Listen I'm sorry...".

She didn't let me finish.

"Forget about it" she pretty much ordered "Even if you do get together with Raven I don't think I'd get to see very much so lets just put this behind us. Please".

I was mad at myself now for ruining what could have a proper friendship. It had been nice to have someone to talk to who didn't care if I was Red-X and lonely of that I was sure.

"If that's what you want" I said "Then it never happened".

Moments later she had teleported out after calling the Watchtower and soon after that I was out the door.

I had a magic using criminal to track down, and that meant contacting my team and getting them to find Mumbo so I could get him back to jail before he hurt anyone.

I wasn't a hero, but I'd been entrusted to project this city and I wasn't going to let down everyone I knew. Besides getting to kick the shit out of someone would be just the thing to improve my mood and it would distract me from my problem as well. Which was a nice bonus.

(End)

 **Author Note**

Okay folks voting time.

Should Red-X get together with Raven or not.

If he does he won't join the Titans as he's got the Shadow Squad, but if he gets together with Raven then they won't fight the Titans as much.

I think it could be funny. I keep picturing Red-X having to call off a robbery right at the start because he has to take his pregnant girlfriend for a ultrasound.

On the other hand if he doesn't then Raven will keep trying to change his mind, because she's not just going to give up. Which could also be fun to write as she is scary.

Either way I have some fun ideas for the Shadow Squad. Folks like CADMUS will try to hire to work against the League and memebers of the League could hire them to foil other bad guys.

And of course the Squad will have their own plans to get more money, power and cool toys.

Also the vote will naturally effect book 3 but I won't go into that because of spoilers.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author Note**

After some reviews and discussions over private messages its clear to me that the readers don't want Red-X to get with Raven, so he won't. For this book he'll stick with Jinx and Blackfire while at the same time having to deal with Raven's attempt to ensnare him.

This way I can still write about funny pregnant things like having to stop a fight with the Titans because of an appointment for an ultrasound, and Red-X might have to sneak into the tower at two in the morning because a certain someone has an odd craving for banana ice cream and all the stores are closed.

Once the baby had been born this might change, but that would be in the next book so I will gather opinions on that later.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 8**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

Jinx was having a slight problem with Blackfire, they were both of the opinion that when Red-X wasn't around then they were the one in charge, and this was a big issue because several times in the past the two of them had nearly come to blows when trying to decide between them what job the group should do next.

Now they were fighting again, this time over what to spend their hard earn loot on, Jinx had decided to go see if the boss was back yet so that he could tell Blackfire that when he wasn't around that Jinx was in charge.

Which she felt she should be as she'd gone to the trouble of squeezing into leather trousers that showed off her cute butt. Plus she known X the longest and while they had broken up in her mind they were back together, at least in a casual sense.

To her surprise the pink haired girl found someone already knocking her leader's door and it was not Blackfire.

"Raven!" Jinx shouted in surprise "What are you doing here?"

The member of Shadow Squad spent a second looking for the other Titans as she now believed that her home was under attack, and then she prepared to use her powers on her enemy only to stop when she saw that the purple haired girl was carrying a parcel.

"Did you quit the hero business and start working for UPS?" Jinx asked.

The young crook found the situation more than a little befuddling. Raven wasn't the type to plant a bomb, and the grey skinned girl couldn't imagine what else could be in the package.

"It's a present for X" the Titan explained "Its a thank you for looking after things while my friends and I were away".

Jinx knew all about that as her boss had told the Shadow Squad to lay for a couple of days while he was bus elsewhere. None of the criminals had minded because business had been very good recently, and Red-X being alone in the tower had given him a chance to get some useful information on the Squad's rivals.

"But for some reason I can't get into his room" Raven then said "I can't even open the door".

Jinx was now wondering how the Teeen Titan had even gotten into the building in the first place. Given its defences she should have at least tripped an alarm, however this was something she could discuss with her group's leader at a later date.

"I know he put some wards up to keep out demons" the pink haired girl informed the purple haired one "I guess it works on part demons too".

While Jinx had a meta-human power and some magical abilities she was human so the wards wouldn't stop her from entering Red-X's room. Now that Jinx knew the wards worked she decided that she was going to try to get some for her room. Then she considered demon proofing the entire building as she didn't want Raven being able to pop into the Squad's headquarters when ever the Titan wished to.

"So I can't even get into my boyfriend's bedroom" Raven complained.

Jinx's mood went from curious to angry in a matter of milliseconds.

"He's not your boyfriend!" the Squad memeber said "He's mine... sort of.. well I share him with Blackfire, but he's not yours!".

Before Jinx had even finished speaking the Titan had dropped the parcel and then her eyes started to glow red. The Squad member was now scared as well as mad, so she wasn't going to back down.

"So why don't you take your little gift and leave my man alone" the female villain taunted.

Jinx never saw the dark energy blast coming.

(Line Break)

 **Steel Mill – Jump City**

Once the Titans had returned to their home I'd felt the overwhelming urge to be alone, so I had donned the Red-X suit and had come to a place that was familiar to me.

As sat on the catwalk I dangled a half drunk bottle of beer off the edge. If I lessened my grip ever so slightly the bottle would fall and smash, but I had no desire to waste any of it.

I'd taken off my mask so I could drink, and also so I could look at the skull face of Red-X.

Today was going to be spent moping I could feel it, and I had a lot to mull over as I was very unhappy. It happened sometimes, and since the life of freedom and adventure I'd been enjoying seemed to be coming to end I felt I had every right to act all emo.

I'd gotten a girl pregnant and now my days as Red-X were drawing to a close. That day wasn't this one, but it was close. I had responsibilities now, and not just for the team I led.

Yep part of me wanted to rebel, to put the mask back on and go steal something because I was 'The Prince of Thieves' and leader of the infamous Shadow Squad. But every time I decided to do that I reminded myself that my own father had abandoned me and I felt just awful about that.

"You know I had this whole plan arranged just to met you" a familiar voice said "I was going to kidnap one of your team mates, and then you suddenly drop by for a visit just as I was about to put my plan into action. It's almost enough to make me believe in fate".

The fact that I didn't leap into a fighting stance was proof of just how out of sorts I was.

"Hello, Rose" I said.

I hadn't need to turn my head to know that it was her. I'd spent enough time with the young woman to be sure it was her.

"Did you miss me?" I then inquired.

Her answer wasn't long in coming.

"Not to wound your ego, but I barely remember you" she said "Not that I don't find you interesting. I know my father did".

I could hear her walking towards me so I knew exactly where she was on the catwalk which made it easy to throw a crystal at her. Just as I'd predicted she would she destroyed it with one of her swords.

"Oh now I do remember you" she told me as she lowered her weapon"We went on a date, we were attacked and you saved me. Then you helped train me. How could I forget all of that?".

She forgotten because I'd foolishly made a wish without considering all the long ramifications. I'd not just altered memories I'd altered other forms of records. I must have, and a few things had been physically altered too. Including myself.

"I don't recall you being such a boring conversationalist" she then said.

That remark hurt more than it should have.

"I don't recall you being so serious" I replied.

She didn't like hearing that.

"My father was murdered" she reminded me.

Had I been in the mood for a fight I would have told her that the world was a better place without Slade Wilson in it.

"I'm sorry you lost your Dad" was what I decided to say.

While I stilled hadn't turned to look at her I could feel her weight shift about on the catwalk so I knew her stance had changed, and when she spoke I could tell her mood was different too.

"Thank you" she replied "You're the only person whose ever spoken those words to me".

He might have been a monster but Slade had still been her father, and the only parent Rose had left. To make it worse they'd only just become part of each others lives before she'd been orphaned again.

"So are you here to get revenge?" I wondered "Because the person who killed your Dad is dead".

According to the info the Titans had on their computers some girl called Terra had done the deed, and she had fallen down the big hole in the ground along with Slade.

"They were all involved" Rose argued while taking a seat next to me "They took my father away from me. He was all I had left. I mean I know he wasn't a good man, but he was... he was my Dad".

Where I in her shoes I reckoned I'd want payback too and while normally I might have pointed out that her loved one wouldn't want her to waste her life getting revenge, in this case it wasn't true. Slade would come back from the dead to do it himself if given the chance.

"I know" was all I said on the matter.

Rose helped herself to one of my beers.

"Why did you leave" she then asked me "I missed you. I can remember that now. I thought we were friends".

I could have told her that people like us shouldn't have friends. But that would make me a big hypocrite.

"Batman was after me" I explained "And what was left of the League of Shadows were trying to kill me, so I did some magic and vanished. I guess I was scared".

It felt good to admit that.

"I thought it would protect people" I went on to say "Not just me, but I was wrong".

It felt good to admit that too.

"You know we'd make a pretty good team" she hinted.

Even if I had ever wanted to kill the Titans, then that wasn't an option anymore. An attack on them would put Raven into harms way and in turn that put my child at risk. I could not allow that.

"If you lay a hand on Raven I will kill you" I said bluntly.

It hadn't even been a threat. It had been a simple statement and it totally true. If she went after Ray then I would murder Rose without delay. She'd would die.

"Maybe I'll kill you" Slade's daughter replied.

Sadly for her that wasn't possible.

"Maybe" I agreed.

That somehow turned into some sort of toast and I figured I was toasting one of the few things that was certain in my life.

"But not today" Rose then said.

That I also agreed to.

"Not today" I said.

Neither of us spoke for a few moments.

"So you're with Raven?" Rose then asked.

That was a complex thing to ask about.

"I have no idea" I told the young assassin.

Clearly she thought we were, but I was opposed to it as the idea of getting tied down disgusted me. I was Red-X. I was suppose to be a man living by my own rules, and now that freedom was being taken away from me.

"When did it get so complicated?" was Rose's next question.

I'd actually grown up once before so I knew the answer to this.

"When you became an adult" I told her.

Rose sighed.

"I'd like to stop maturing please" she requested.

Sadly that wasn't possible. I was immortal and I still had to deal with getting older. It was just my case I didn't have to worry about grey hairs and worry lines.

"Oh my father left you some money" Rose then informed me "I'll have it sent to your new base. Used bills and jewels okay?".

I just nodded as despite the fact that getting some money would be good, I simply couldn't get enthusiastic about anything right now.

"Do you..." Rose started to say.

I had raised my hand to signal for silence as a voice was coming from the inside of my mask. I slipped the skull face on and listened.

"Sorry" I then said "I have to go stop my friends from killing each.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"What set them off?" I asked as I joined Mammoth, Gizmo, and Blackfire inside the panic room.

I'd not even known that we had one of these but as it turned at some point int the past the tiny tech of our group had built a room what was pretty much impossible to get into even if you have magical powers or super strength.

"To hell if I know spit-drinker" Gizmo told me as we watched the action on the screens "All I do know from rewinding the camera footage is that Jinx went to your room to see if you were back and she bumped into demon girl there. Then they both got all pissed off and this led to them having the nastiest catfight in human history, so we all came and hid in here".

Which had been wise, and I was also grateful that Gizmo had opened the door for me as it was a warzone out there. On the monitors I could see Jinx hurl a Hex-Bolt at Raven, which was deflected by a shield the Titan had put up. The bit of pink coloured energy ended up destroying our living room's new plasma screen TV.

"What is a catfight"?" Blackfire then asked us.

For once it was not me who had to answer the question.

"It's when two dump chicks get into a fight over a guy that they both like" Gizmo explained.

I was tempted to go put my mask back on so as to hide my embarrassment over the fact they were almost certainly fighting over me. However I'd foolishly taken it off when I'd returned home so I kept my blushing face focused on the screens.

That was when I saw Raven run down a hall while screaming, her eyes were a glowing a burning red and with her powers she slammed into Jinx, knocking them through a door.

"Yeah I'm not going out there" I muttered to myself.

I had magic of my own, and I was a good fighter, but compared to two rage filled young woman I would be like a deer trapped in headlights, or more a soft piece of fruit which crushed in a vice.

"Why is it called a Catfight?" was Blackfire's next inquiry

I took a moment to think it over.

"Got me" Mammoth said with a grunt.

I supplied a better answer.

"It's called a catfight because women in these situations will use their nails like a cat will use their claws" I explained.

Something that Jinx went on to demonstrate

"And sometimes they might even hiss like an angry cat.

"Alright now I'm really mad!" our magical girl shouted as Raven did in fact his at her.

When the camera focused on the Titan I could see that her hands did somewhat resembled claws, and by the looks of things Jinx's scratches had drawn blood.

"I get it now" Blackfire said.

On the screen Jinx lunged forward. Her hands were covered in glowing pink energy and when she brought her hands down, this caused the ground to crack open.

"So any idea why they are fighting" Gizmo then asked me.

In order to keep hiding my face I kept looking at the screens and watched as the Titan took to the air and then vanished before reappearing behind Jinx.

"I don't know for sure" I told everyone a moment later "But Raven is under the impression that I'm her boyfriend, and I'm guessing Jinx is not happy about that".

Blackfire then became very worried.

"So demon girl just found out that your doing the nasty with Jinx and me" the alien princess said in a worried tone of voice "Which means once she's done with Jixy I'm next".

That could be the case.

"You need to protect me" Blackfire then demanded before correcting herself "I mean us.. go and protect us from your girlfriend".

I had no idea how to do that.

"Which one" I joked as to help lower our level of tension.

That was something hit the wall of the panic room and we all started to get even more stressed out.

"Perhaps it would be safer if we got some help" Blackfire suggested.

That wasn't a such bad idea.

"Well we could go to the Titans" I suggested.

On the camera Jinx used a roundhouse kick to knock Raven into a different wall, this seemed to support my idea.

"We'd have to go out there to get to the Titans" Mammoth pointed out.

He had a good point there, and we had to do something soon because Jinx was outmatched. The only reason she'd lasted this long was because Raven wanted to hurt her not defeat her.

"Maybe I could construct a force field to contain them" Gizmo suggested "Or a …"

He stopped then as he realised all his tech stuff was in this lab, which was also outside this room.

"I guess we'll just have to make a run for it" I said.

That was when Kyd Wyykd came out of no where.

"You can get us out of here" I said, before realising that I had to stay "I mean get all of them out of here. Leave me behind".

The Kyd nodded his head and pulled them all into the shadows before anyone could argue about it. Not that they wanted to debate the issue.

"I am such an idiot" I then muttered to myself before opening the door of the panic room.

Since I had decided to stop the fight I had to try and talk to the two girls, but that was going to be a problem.

" **You have NO idea who you are fucking with!"**

That demonic roar had to have come from Raven, and it seemed to have an effect on Jinx as she was backing away from the Teen Titan. Which gave me a chance to end the battle.

"Stop it now!" I ordered.

Amazingly they did. They both stopped and looked at me.

"Raven go home. I'll talk to you later" I told the pissed off Titan "Jinx go to your room and don't come out until I tell you to".

If this didn't work I'd find out how immortal I really was.

"But..." Ray protested.

I didn't give her the chance

"Do as I say, young lady" I said in my most commanding voice.

It worked, she turned around and stormed off like a stropy teenager, which was exactly what she was. As for Jinx she was already gone.

"Wow I can't believe that worked" I said to myself.

As dangerous as that had been it had actually been the easy. What would be more tricky was either telling Raven I wasn't her boyfriend or telling Jinx that I was no longer hers.

However that could wait until tomorrow. First I had to get the rest of my gang back, and then we had to fix this place up.

"One problem at a time" I muttered "One problem at a time".


	9. Chapter 9

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Part 10**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

For once I was glad I was not in my Red-X suit as I was getting paint everywhere. It was not easy to put wards up all over an entire building, and I had to do it right otherwise my efforts would be for naught. Which would just suck because I really, really wanted this place to be impossible to spy upon using magic.

"X, can I talk you" a voice asked.

Slowly I turned my head to see Raven and I was very annoyed to find her here, because the rest of the Squad did not want her around. Not just because she'd trashed the place, which was partly Jinx's fault, but also due to the fact they were scared of her.

"I knew I should have done the demon proofing first" I said to myself.

The only reason I hadn't was because those wards had to be on the outside of the building and since it was day time it was best to the that part at night. Now I was thinking that it would have been worth the risk of being caught by the police.

"What can I do for you Ray?" I asked while I kept on painting.

Really I did want to know if she was okay because I was worried that she might have taken a blow to the stomach during her fight with Jinx, but I knew I had to keep myself emotionally distant from all the women in my life until I decided what I was going to do about them.

"I'd like an explanation" she then said "About Jinx".

It was interesting that Raven didn't care about Blackfire, it was like she didn't see the alien princess as any sort of threat. Perhaps because she thought she was Starfire's problem.

"What's to explain?" I asked her "She's not my girlfriend, and neither are you, and if either of you had been then you wouldn't be anymore".

While it took some effort I managed to stay focused on the work in front of me, as I really didn't want to met Raven's eyes right now. She could manipulate my feelings with them.

"I thought we were dating" she said.

Slowly I moved the brush and started on another symbol.

"We only went on two dates" I reminded her while keeping my voice calm "That doesn't make us a couple".

I had ever offered her any sort of commitment. In fact I'd told her more than once that we had no future together.

"Well I want to proper relationship" she said "We're having a baby, so we should make an effort to be a family".

That did make some sense as children should have a home environment to grow up in, it just wasn't possible in this case.

"So were you thinking a nice house in the suburbs?" I asked "You could be a housewife, and I could get a job in an office. At the weekends we could have barbecues, and invite our friends. They would try to beat each other, but I'm sure the neighbours would love it".

Now that I'd said it out loud it sounded rather amusing. Of course I knew the reality would be far less funny.

"I was thinking that we'd live in the tower for a while and then get an apartment somewhere" Raven said "Raising a kid won't be easy because I have responsibilities, but you don't need to be a criminal".

Me being stuck at home with a baby. If that was her plan then it sucked big time

"That sounds horrible" I commented "You might have noticed that I'm a rebel. I'm not the kind of guy who going to stay home and mind the baby. I have things I want to do with my life".

Like have a life.

"You'd have me" Raven argued "And you could still do stuff once the baby is in daycare, and we can hire a babysitter if you ever feel the need to go out and do stupid guy stuff".

No doubt her mind was full of ideas of domestic bliss. Sadly things rarely worked out how people imagined they would.

"That's not what I want" I told her.

She didn't seem to grasp that we weren't the kind of people who got the house with the white picket fence and the family dog.

"You're being selfish" Raven accused

Now I was getting mad, and that made it very hard to focus on what I was suppose to be doing.

"I'm a bad guy" I pointed out "We're suppose to be selfish"

My work then came to an end with the pot of paint I'd been using, exploded, and for a second I considered the idea of demon proofing as must of the city as I could.

"Fine!" Raven shouted "You be Red-X and I'll be a Titan. Our kid can grow up with parents who fight each other all the time, and you'll be such a great role model!".

In my view there was no reason for my child to ever know I was Red-X, at least not until he or she was a grown up. It wasn't like I'd wear the suit when I took the kid to the park.

"Sounds good to me" I said.

That took her a moment to process that.

"Okay so you'll be a terrible father and I'll resent you for it" Raven replied "You can have the baby at the weekends, but I'll want child support".

Now I needed a moment to sort out my thoughts. She was actually purposing that we act like a divorced couple where the Dad had custody at the weekends. But given that I was a criminal she had every right to refuse me any contact so it wasn't that bad of a compromise.

"That sounds fair" I told her.

Judging by her reaction to my words she'd been expecting us to fight some more.

"Okay fine" she said when she spoke again "And you'll come with me to doctor's appointments, and be there for the birth, as in the room".

The last one was a rather tall order, but I could make her stop a demonic rampage then it might be best for public safety if I was there at the birth.

"Yes, that's fine" I said.

Raven looked as if she had one some great victory and then she walked into a black swirly thing which took her away.

"Wish I could that" I muttered.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"So is that what you call a workout?" Jinx asked me as the training room shut down.

Gizmo, being a nerd, liked Star Trek and being a tech wizard he'd built a sort of holodeck. It wasn't that complex when compared to what they had on the Enterprise, but it served its purpose and my little buddy had programmed it to provide me with a training environment. However without some to spar against I just didn't think I'd improve.

"No that was just a warm up" I said to the crook before addressing the computer "Reset".

The room changed back into an intact dojo, and I got some fresh dummies to break into pieces.

"Need something?" I then questioned

I knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, and I also knew that she would need a moment or two to summon up her courage before she asked me anything.

"Yeah I wanted to talk to you about the fight I had with demon-girl" she said "I was wondering how mad you are at me",

I wasn't mad at her at all, and I didn't understand why she might think I would be. Then I recalled that I had promised to destroy anyone who hurt Raven, and Jinx had fought her.

"Don't worry" I assured the pink haired girl "I saw the footage. She came in her uninvited and attacked you. It was her fault not yours".

Besides I was rather found of Jinxy so she'd have to do a lot worse that get into a catfight in order to get me pissed at her.

"Okay" she said, sounding more relaxed tham before "My next questions is this: Is she your girlfriend?".

Since the matter of my relationship with the Teen Titan had been settled, at least for now, I could answer her.

"She was never my girlfriend" I told Jinx "We just went on a couple of dates, and she thought it meant more than it did. I'm not in love with her, in fact I don't even like her very much these days".

My team mate was happy about that, it was written all over her face, but it didn't last as her expression soon became a thoughtful one.

"But if she's not your girlfriend, then why are you so protective of her" Jinx then inquired of me.

I spent a moment wondering if I should lie, but I decided not to.

"She's pregnant" I said simply.

Jinx didn't need any time to figuure out who the father was.

"I get it now" she said "I knew you had a good reason, but I didn't think..".

She stopped for a moment as if she needed to organise her thoughts.

"Hey, you were in the same room as her during that messed up contest" she soon realised "That's when it happened".

If the other rooms had been anything like mind then the meta-human girl would have noticed how they had been furnished to create an atmosphere that could led to sex.

"Yeah" I confirmed.

Now that it was all out the open Jinx seemed much happier, at least until she brought up the next topic.

"I know this is a bad time given what happened yesterday, but you do need to decide whose your second in command" the pink haired girl said "And if I'm your girl then it should be me".

With some effort I was able to resist sighing.

"I don't want a proper relationship right now" I told her.

Jinx wasn't put off by that statement.

"I'm not saying we should get married" she assured me "And I'm not saying you can't do stuff with Blackfire either I just want to be your girl so everyone knows who's the boss when your out, and you need someone to talk to about stuff like this".

She had some good points there, and if she wanted to formalise what we already had then for me it wasn't such big deal.

"Okay your my girl" I said.

I didn't doubt for a second that she would find a way to make sure everyone knew found out about this, but that didn't bother me as we did need a proper chain of command around here, and by being my girl she got to be second in command. Which would also take some stress off me, which would be nice.

"Do you want to spar?" Jinx then asked.

I'd seen her fight hand to hand a few times, but she wasn't on my level because she depended on her powers. Which to be fair were formidable as I'd seen just last night.

"Think you could keep up?" I inquired of her.

Jinx smiled before flipping backwards several times, and since she was in her normal outfit again that allowed me to see that for some reason wasn't wearing any underwear. Then when she did a handstand it became impossible to ignore that she was going commando.

"Well that's distracting" I commented.

Jinx smiled again.

"I figured you might want to spank me for knocking Raven around" the pink haired girl explained "And since you have boyfriend privileges now, you get to do that when ever you want".

While this was good news I couldn't help but question it.

"So you wouldn't have let me do that as just your leader?" I wondered.

I had been the under the impression that it had been my right.

"Oh you could have ordered me to do anything" Jinx explained "But now I want you to and I'll even tell you when I've been a bad girl".

She knew me better than I had thought. It became tricky for me to focus as I envisioned what she could do for me, and she took advantage of that. The sneaky minx lunged at me and, span so she could deliver a roundhouse kick. I didn't see this coming so I ended up on my back. Thankfully the floor was matted so it didn't hurt to bad even though I wasn't wearing my Red-X suit.

"Oh you're are so going to get it now" I promised Jinx

Despite my words I went easy on her as I no desire to give her bruises, and that proved to be a mistake because he was able to easy flip about in order to avoid any blow I attempted to land.

"You are one seriously flexible chick" I said.

Jinx grinned once more, and then jumped forward intending to plant a kick to my chest. But I saw it coming so I took hold of her leg, and then I pushed intending to make her lose her balance. However, Jinxy simply went with the motion and flipped again so she remained on her feet when she landed.

"What do you think?" the girl then asked.

I didn't need to answer as she would be able to see how impressed I was, but I expressed some words anyway.

"You're very agile" I said.

Jinx smirked, and then lunged forward once more. Only this time I side stepped so she went past me.

"Okay my turn" I said.

With that I tackled her and I ended up carrying Jinx over my shoulder. Which caused her to start giggling like a mad woman, and then I span her round which made it even more fun.

"Hold on!" she called out "We have a meeting".

She was right we did have a meeting to go to. Now that Gizmo had done the repairs we needed to discuss how to improve our defences, in ways aside from what I had done. Then we needed to go through what jobs we'd been offered. We were after all crooks for hire.

"Let's go" I said while heading out of the room.

Jinx had a problem with this.

"Wait I'm not wearing panties" she reminded me.

That didn't stop me from heading for the door.

"Someone might see what belongs to you" she then said.

She'd phrased that well because now I didn't want anyone to get an eye full of what was mine to enjoy. Well maybe Blackfire, but then only if all three of us were in bed together.

With that in mind I let Jinx down and she scampered off to her room.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

A short time later we all at the big conference desk, as it was now time to discuss business.

"I finished the warding" I informed everyone "This place is now demon proof so Raven, and any part demons in the League won't be able to enter this place. Well not unless someone destroys the wards, but any security system can be countered. We all know that".

In fact we made a living doing that very thing.

"And I fixed all the damage" Gizmo told us "But I don't get why you even let that crazy chick in here in the first place",

I couldn't help but exchange glances with Jinx and her look made me decide that I needed to let everyone know why I was giving the Titan so much leeway.

"Because she's pregnant with my kid" I explained to the squad "That's why I don't want her hurt".

The guys in the group said nothing, they all just nodded in complete understanding. However Blackfire wasn't so silent on the subject.

"So that's why she went psycho!"

Being from a race of people who were passionate to the point of seeming a little crazy to most humans, I was pretty sure the alien princess would have done the same thing.

"She wants me as her boyfriend so we can play happy families" I then said "And she's not exactly the most emotional stable person around so this kind of thing might happen again".

The guys were now understandable nervous. Ray was far more scary than anyone else on her team.

"So we need way better security" Gizmo said in a surprisingly serious tone of voice "That's not going to be cheap"

Thankfully I had some money heading my way.

"I should be getting paid for a job I did a while back" I told him "And if you need more I can steal it".

They didn't call me the Prince of Thieves for nothing.

"What about getting some new members?" asked Mammoth "The more people we have the better, right?".

That wasn't a bad idea as we had the space, and we had jobs lined up so there would be a share of the spoils for anyone who joined.

"But the only place we can recruit from is the academy" Jinx said.

I didn't think that was true, as there had to be other young crooks out there, however the guys and girls in the school had been trained to work with other criminals as a team, were as most bad guys couldn't be trusted in a group.

"And since Brother Blood took over he only lets students out if a client hires them" the pink haired girl added.

I'd heard of Brother Blood, but I didn't know much about him.

"So close the school" Mammoth suggested.

That sounded like a tall order, and until I had more information I wasn't going to be able to come up with a plan.

"Where is this school?" Blackfire asked.

In my day it had been underground, and I'd not been back since I had started working for Slade. Now there was no point because the Titans had shut that place down.

"Underwater" Jinx informed the alien "Very deep underwater, if it wasn't the League or the Titans would have found the place by now".

Hearing that got me thinking.

"Could you take me there" I then inquired.

If she did I might have a plan.

"Sure I can, boss" she said "I know all the hidden passages to get there from Jump City".

Now I was sure I had a scheme.

"I know Doctor Fate, and he knows Aquaman, so I can get in contact with Fate then I can get a message to the King of Atlantis" I told everyone "If he finds out theres an underwater school for crooks he will do something about it".

It did not take long for everyone to figure out where I was going with all this.

"And if the school closes then we can cherry pick the best students for our group" Jinx said "Oh that's smart".

The hard part would be contacting Fate, if I failed to think of a way then I'd have to risk tipping off Batman. Which wouldn't be hard as I could just post him a letter, or I could sent Clark Kent a message at the Daily Planet disguised as an anonymous tip for a newspaper story.

Already I could envision the headline.

UNDERWATER SCHOOL FOR JUNIOR CROOKS!

Hopefully it would something more memorable than that.

"Okay so here's the plan" I said to everyone "Gizmo will focus on improving our defences while Jinx gets me to the academy. The rest of you will be collecting a debt. We're being offended ten grand to recover a lot of cash which isn't much I know but its worth it if only to increase our reputation".

The money was owed by some gamblers who were a rough lot, but they would be nothing when faced with Mammoth and Blackfire was even more dangerous then him. But they might not need to fight as Kyd Wyykd could simply go in and take the money.

"Can this wait a couple of days?" Jinx then asked "It's girl's night tomorrow. Which means me and Fire will be out till late".

There was no rush, but still I would have liked to have gotten the ball rolling as it were.

"What's wrong with tonight?" I asked.

Jinx gave me a look that hinted at something.

"I want an early night" she said "I'm still a little sore from that fight. Maybe you could help me relax?".

That sounded like even more fun that sneaking into an underground base full of dangerous criminals so that we could gather intel for an attack. But only just because I did so enjoy testing out my thief skills.

"Fine we can chill for a couple of days" I declared.

With that I ended the meeting and decided to go out for a take-away. I wanted to buy Jinx dinner before I spanked her ass because I was old fashioned that way.


	10. Whacky Races

**Author Note.**

I worked hard on this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Whacky Races**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"Yo boss man!" Gizmo shouted out as I walked past his workshop "You might want to see this".

I went into the room and saw on a screen what appeared to be a middle aged man holding a briefcase.

"However this guy is he knows who we are" my little buddy told me "This was sent to us".

So it was a recording rather than a call. Which made me wonder who the man was going to talk to.

" _What's buzzin', cousins?"_ the man said.

By the looks of things he was standing in the middle of the road.

" _You're going to hand over what you stole—now!"_

That voice had come from off-screen, and it was some distorted but I knew at once who had spoken: The Boy Wonder.

" _Chill out, cool cat. The Ding Dong Daddy ain't cruisn' for a bruisin'. The prize is yours. All you gotta do is race me for it"_ said the villain.

So this was another of the Teen Titans playmates, those guys had to deal with some odd customers _._

"Racing. Sounds fun" commented Gizmo.

" _What does he mean by prize?"_ a voice inquired.

That had been Beast Boy I was sure.

 _"The prize is b_ _ulletproof, fireproof, blastproof. Has an encrypted lock. And here's the real kicker"_ said the crook as he turned the case.

On that side was the R symbol the current Robin used.

 _"Robin, when you said we had to stop a crook, I think you left out a minor detail—you were the one robbed!"_

That had been Cyborg.

 _"It doesn't matter. This is your Last chance. We can do this the easy way or the hard way"_ the Boy Wonder remarked.

So Bird Boy had a suitcase which contained something so valuable that he felt it needed to protected by a bomb proof container.

 _"How 'bout_ my _way?"_ the Ding Dong Daddy asked. _"You want it back; you'll need to beat me in a race"_

I suspected that the case had something of great worth within it, but only to Tim Drake. I doubted it was any sort of classified information or bit of exotic technology.

" _That's if you have the wheels for it!"_ _the crook then added._

Given that we had been sent a copy of this conversation it was clear to me that we also being invited to star in Jump City's own version of Whacky Races.

 _"You're challenging the T-Car with that thing? Oh, you are on!"_ said Cyborg in a cheerful tone.

That was the image changed to show a map and the route of the race.

" _I'll see you at the finish line! Be there or be square!"_

The message ended and Gizmo turned to me.

"I bet that things got of all Robin's little secrets in it" the tech wizard said "We have to have it, boss man".

The little guy was surprised when I didn't agree with him.

"If it does then we have to make sure that only Robin gets that case" I told my teammate "Because if people find out who he is then they will be able to figure out who Batman is, and if the Dark Knight is exposed then there won't be anyone to stop the likes of the Joker".

Before the tiny terror could reply to that I spoke some more.

"And I already know all of Robin's secrets" I told the midget of mischief "So if someone else gets that kind of information then I lose my advantages over him".

Gizmo stopped to think for a moment.

"So why don't we go get that case and then blackmail him with it" the group's tech support suggested.

There were a number of reasons why we couldn't do that.

"Well for starters if we do then Batman will come after us" I explained "And you guys don't heal as fast I do. Trust me Caped Crusader will do some major damage to us all. Then there's the fact that anything that harms one Titan can harm them all, and I don't want that".

Gizmo nodded his head in understanding.

"Because of the kid" he said.

That was part of the reason.

"And because we can beat the Titans" I said to him "But if they get killed or have to disband then the League will just send someone else to deal with us, or even a group of people".

It was a case of better the devil you know.

"Wait that means we have to go help those mud-eaters" Gizmo moaned "Awww, man".

That was when I smiled.

"I'm going to go help them" I said "But that doesn't mean you have to. This is a chance to confuse our enemies, and to have some fun".

Wanting to explain things further I sat down and told Gizmo of my plan. By the end of the tiny terror was rubbing his heads with a glee and promising to spend tonight finishing the new X-bike while the girls were out doing whatever it was they did on their night off.

I'd used to own a flying motorcycle, but for the life of me I couldn't remember where I'd stored the damn thing.

(Line Break)

 _"Attention all bad guys! Bird-Boy's secret stuff is up for grabs! All you have to do is win some stinking race! Start your engines!"_

I smiled under my mask as Gizmo played his role. As for me I was busy going over my playlist because I wanted only decent music blasting through my eardrums when I rode my hog.

Today was a fine day to not only confuse the Teen Titans, but also to get a good measure of our fellow super crooks. Plus we would have fun driving really fast, and as guys we just loved that.

The race started and Ding Dong Daddy whizzed ahead desperate to keep his early lead in the race for Robin's briefcase as the Boy Wonder and I were already gaining on him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robin push harder on the throttle and accelerate his bike, so that we were neck and neck with each other.

"So what's in the case?" I asked out curiosity over the comm channel.

The crazy thing was that even if I actually got my hands on the thing I would simply turn it over to the Titans just to mess with their heads so it didn't really matter what was in it.

 _"You'll never find out!"_ Robin retorted over the radio he had built into his helmet.

I suspected it contained a photo album of his life, or something else which could be dangerous in the wrong hands because it could expose Tim Drake.

"We'll see about that!" I shot back as I slammed up against Robin.

His bike skidded to the far side. Then it hit the railing that was the only thing between us and a very long drop down into the canyon below. The Boy Blunder managed to regain control of his cycle and then he tried to shove me into the side of the road before he accelerated just enough to pull ahead of my bike.

Not wanting to make it easy for him I pushed my cycle harder and hoped that Gizmo was as a talented with machines as Cyborg was, because going full throttle like this had to be a strain on the bike.

When I caught up to Bird Boy again I aimed at punch at Robin's face, but he avoided the blow and retaliated with a quick kick that nearly knocked me off my ride. Given the speeds we were going at it would have been very bad for for ever of us if we hit the road.

I then spent just a second or two thinking that this race must look so cool, but being in the thick of things I had no way to tell how awesome it all looked. However I knew that Gizmo was recording everything as was Blackfire who was watching from a distance up somewhere high. Which meant that later I could watch me work.

A few moments later I brought my bike slamming back against the Boy Wonder's cycle. Sparks flew until Robin managed to push me away. That was when I realised that the guy we were chasing as was managing to put some distance between him and us.

When the Titan also realised this both of our motorcycles followed in pursuit and at the same time we tried to outmanoeuvre each other. Only it was all a waste of time as suddenly Ding Dong Daddy's car increased speed at an unbelievable rate.

I had to wonder how such a clunky looking car could accelerate like that. By all rights the vehicle should have shaken itself apart by now.

That was when I noticed that Tim Drake had managed to match speeds with the guy we were chasing. Also someone else on a bike was catching up with us.

"Rose!" I said in surprise.

It was Ravager, and she was even hotter as a biker chick/assassin. Her ride was sweet. It looked a lot like my own for the most part only it was blood red rather than jet black and her skull symbol was a little different than mine.

Sadly for her being all sexy and having a cool bike wouldn't stop me from kicking her out of this race. I couldn't let someone bent on destroying the Titans get possibly critical information on one of them.

If her plan had simply been to sell the info off to the highest bidder and run off with the money then I would of have been more honourable, but since it wasn't I had to stop her at all costs.

With that it mind I took out my sickle and it grew it something the Grim Reaper could have owned at one point. With it I slashed at her tires, but she was able to protect her bike by using a sword. It was really tricky to do the whole clash of blades thing while racing down curving roads, but somehow we managed the feat.

Then I ended the fight with a slash to a wheel. Ravager lost control of her ride and seconds later she was crashing into a truck of some sort. I knew she wasn't dead, because if she was anything like Slade then no mere road accident would kill her, and I also knew that she'd make me pay for doing that sometime in the near future, but for now at least she was out of action.

I decided then to keep up appearances and seconds later Robin was blocking a swipe of my scythe with his Bo Staff that he had taken out from his utility belt. Then he swung his weapon at me and I parried the blow with my own weapon.

 _"You cat's are a blast!"_ Ding Daddy then said over the radio.

Now that he'd gotten my attention I chose to make him pay for it. I pushed the throttle of my motorcycle to its limits and I chased after Ding Dong Daddy's car. Robin followed suit.

 _"Why are you doing this?"_ Robin then demanded over the comm unit I had in my mask _"You don't even the need it"_

From those words I came to conclusion that what was in the case would in fact expose Tim Drake, and that Robin knew that I already knew who he was. That would explain his confusion. However it didn't explain how he knew that I knew his real name as he shouldn't remember the time Slade had unmasked him.

 _"It means nothing to you"_ the Boy Wonder than said directly into my mask _"It's only valuable to me"._

He was right, it did mean nothing to me, and deep down I had to admit that I was mostly doing this for the sheer thrill.

"Its worth a lot to my client" I said.

While there was no one waiting to pay me for the case, this was at least a motivation that Bird-Boy could understand.

" _How much would it cost for you to help me get it?"_ The Titan asked.

Those words surprised me so much I actually slowed down. I couldn't believe that this hero was offering to pay me.

"What are you offering?" I asked.

Drake didn't need long to answer.

" _I can get you your old bike back"_ he offered.

Now I knew that Batman had to have it. Which wasn't that shocking really as that guy was known for taking mementos. As for the bike itself, it was superior to the one I was riding now because it had alien tech in it.

This meant if I could get it back then Gizmo might be able to combine the best of both bikes into a new cycle that could outperform the one I had now. But even if he couldn't my old bike had great sentimental value, and it was a total pussy magnet. Blackfire could get horny from just thinking about getting to ride it.

"Done" I said "You stay on Ding Dong I'll deal the others".

I reduced speed and saw that Gizmo, the Puppet King, Some moth guy with Kitten, Mad Mod, Control Freak, Dr. Light, Johnny Rancid, and a few others I didn't even know about, were still in the running.

With a smile on my face, that was hidden by the mask, I switched the bike over to autopilot. Then I the pushed the button on my utility belt and that teleported me over to a man called Johnny Rancid who was also riding a motorcycle. Which made me feel sad for having to destroy the bike, as it was a sweet ride.

"Get off me you freaky goth!" he shouted.

Well that was what he seemed to say. I couldn't be certain because of all the background noise, but still I couldn't risk the remark unpunished, even if it was true. I was a freaky goth.

After grabbing something from my belt I showed into my fellow biker and he began to slow down so I quickly placed my hand on the front of the motorcycle. What I'd attached was a X shaped Xenothium-powered explosive and while the crook couldn't know exactly what it was he had a clue because Rancid quickly jumped off his bike. Then he watched his vehicle tumble end over end and explode

I had jumped off to just in time to see a limousine drive past and I teleported onto the roof. My suit allowed me to stick to the vehicle so then I was able cut my way inside. A second later I landed in the back seat, and the guy I thought was Killer Moth and a girl called Kitten, who'd never met but had heard a lot about, were staring at me.

"Hey, cutie" I said to the teenage girl "What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this".

Before either of them could react I used the X shaped blades on the back of my hands like they were chainsaws. With them I sliced the limo in half, and that soon made it impossible to drive.

"Call me!" Kitten called out as I teleported away.

My next target was Control Freak's convertible however I didn't take it out a once. Instead I first used my throwing Xs to disable Mad Mod's car. The tires of his odd card popped as all the air escaped, then the British villain lost control and ended up crashing into the vehicle I was currently standing on.

I managed to teleport out of the way, and that was very good as my actions had caused a multi-car pile up that only Gizmo's armoured truck was able to get through intact.

"Hey, whose side are you on barf-brain!?" Gizmo screamed at me as I teleported into the seat next to him.

He was understandably upset right now.

"Robin's paying me to make sure he wins" I told my little pal.

That made the tiny terror burst out laughing.

"The snot-licker must be totally desperate!" Gizmo said in glee.

This I could agree with.

"Pull out of the race, but keep close so you can record me" I ordered "I'll make it worth your while with some new tech you can play with".

I didn't bother to listen to any response he might have made as I was already on the move again.

Next I made my way to a large school bus with an oversized rocket attached to the top. I had no idea who was in that thing so after wreaking even more transports I went to check it out.

After landing on the roof of the bus I poked my head inside an open window in order to see inside. To my surprise I saw Raven of all people at the wheel and Starfire sitting on the seat beside her. This confused me as the T-car, which was Cyborg's ride, was still in the race and these two could fly so they had no need to take a bus.

"Need a lift?" Raven asked sarcastically.

I teleported inside, and I was so glad the Gizmo had made the suit's systems so much more energy efficient as otherwise I would have drained the batteries by now. Still this was all rather mentally taxing so I took a seat at the front of the bus.

"Who else is left?" I asked then Starfire.

She turned her head and ignored me, and given that I'd upset her best female friend I didn't blame her for being mad at me.

"I think you got everyone" Raven said coldly.

Upon hearing that I knew I had no welcome to overstay so I blinked a number of times in order to contact my bike and the X-Cycle was soon driving itself alongside the school bus.

"My rides here" I told the girls.

I had been about to teleport onto it when Raven turned the steering wheel hard and we ran into the bike. While my cycle was a tough it didn't mass anywhere near as much as a school bus so it was wreaked by the impact.

"You bitch!" I shouted out.

Before I could do anything other than stand up the floor beneath me went black and I fell through it onto the road below. Thankfully the transition was instantaneous all I'd been under the bus.

However I wasn't stranded for long as Gizmo had park his truck near by destroyed bike. The little guy had spent most of last night putting the finishing touches to the cycle, now it was ruined.

"I can fix it. I can fix it!" my little buddy was shouting while taking out some tools.

This was a sad sight, it was like watching a doctor struggle to save a patient he was very attached to.

"Give it up, Giz" I said while putting a hand on his shoulder "It's gone".

He didn't accept that.

"No I can rebuild it" he promised "We have the technology!".

Despite the sadness of the situation I couldn't help but smile upon hearing those words, but my mirth didn't last very long as Raven had crossed a line. She'd destroyed something of mine now I was going to make her pay.

Revenge would be mine, and it would be sweet.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note**

Terra is back.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Terra**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked Jinx as she ground something into a fine powder and added it to the small cauldron she was using.

My girl wasn't just a meta-human with the power cause misfortune, her mother had been an Indian Sorceress, so she could also do magic. What was interesting about that was the fact that Homo-magi didn't have active metagenes, which meant her father had been the one with the freaky powers. Jinxy had no idea who her Dad was, but she did know that she took after him in the looks department as her mother was normal in appearance judging by the photos Jinx had.

"If it doesn't work then we can try your Old One magic" my team mate and sexual partner said before asking me a question of her own "Are you sure that bringing her back is revenge?".

I could understand her confusion as Terra had been a Teen Titan for a while, and she had 'died' taking out Slade, so on the surface of things the geomancer might not seem like someone who would make Raven suffer should she be restored to flesh and blood.

"Earlier today Blackfire was telling me all about Girl's Night" I told Jinxy "And that got me think about how I could make Ray suffer for destroying the X-cycle mark two".

I wasn't too upset about my former ride as Gizmo was already working on the X-cycle mark three, now that Robin had delivered my first bike back to me. However this wasn't just about petty payback. I owed Terra for getting rid of Deathstroke and I wanted to thank her freeing me from that monster.

"My idea was to find out what she cared about most and then destroy one of these things" I explained to my fellow magic user.

I now knew a few things she liked that I could take away, but hijacking a local TV station so they wouldn't show the latest episode of some cartoon show about magic ponies was a little too public. The League wouldn't tolerate us if we started causing such noticeable trouble.

"But then Fire started telling me all about the time Ray told her that Beast Boy follows her around like a love sick puppy" I then informed Jinx And that when Terra was around that Beastie Boy diverted his attentions to our stoned friend here".

Unlike what the report the Titans had on their computer had said Terra had not actually fallen into the hole. She had in fact over used her powers to the extent that she ended up turning herself into a statue.

Then she'd ended up in a museum, which wasn't as odd as it sounded as she did look like a centuries old piece of art and in such a place Terra had been kept safe, at least until the Shadow Squad had come along and liberated her.

"Most women like to be thought of as attractive, even if they never admit it, and Ray is no exception" I then said

Jinx was hanging on my ever word, like she enjoyed hearing me talk so I kept going.

"So naturally she took an instant dislike to Terra the moment Beast Boy started falling for a girl who was actually willing to show him affection" I went on to say "And if she was to come back then Beast Boy would start mooning over Terra again".

Jinx smiled at me as she got on board with my evil scheme of evil.

"And poor little Rae-Rae won't have anyone to make her feel all special" my girl realised "She might even come running to you for some attention".

Which she wouldn't get as she and I were having a war of sort.

"If you have sex with her I will be very mad at you" Jinx then warned "And you won't get to smack my butt".

She did have a small ass, but it was cute and I did like slapping it. She made all sorts of fun sounds when I spanked her.

"Okay so the last ingredient for my potion is something that represents the person" my girl then said "Any ideas what that could be?"

I knew that she was testing me, as she wouldn't have started this potion if she didn't have everything ready.

"How about this?" I suggested while picking up a pinch of sand with my gloved hands.

I was in my suit, but I was keeping the mask off so as not to scare the girl should we manage to return her to human from.

"She was a geomancer" I pointed out.

It might work as even Terra's name suggested a strong connection to the element of earth.

"Let's give it a try" Jinx said just before she poured the potion all over the rock girl.

To my amazement it worked, and this was very good as I hadn't been sure I could create an Old One spell that could have restored Terra.

"Did- did they win?. . . I destroyed... did I help? . . Did they escaped? Beast Boy.. did he . . . and the Titans. I fell . . . . Slade . . ." Terra said between taking deep breathes

She was recovering from her awful experience very quickly. A few moments later she was on her feet.

"Who are you?" the blonde super powered girl demanded "Where the hell am I?"

My first impression was that she was kinda pretty. Her blond hair framed her face, and her blue eyes were bright. Over all she seemed harmless, or at least that was the impression I had right up until she attacked me and I ended up pinned beneath her. Which was more enjoyable than it looked.

"I said: Who are you?" she repeated with anger in her voice.

The girl was tough but unfortunately for her I was Red-X so I soon she was the one pinned to the ground, Then I looked at Jinx who was very amused by what she saw.

"My name is Red-X, and the sexy lady over there is Jinx. We are the people who saved you" I explained to Terra "And this is our HQ".

When the former Teen Titan relaxed I slowly let her up.

"The Titans are fine" I assured Terra "And Slade is gone".

Understandably she still had some questions.

"But how did I get here?" she asked of me.

I was prepared to answer this.

"Like I told you this is our HQ" I said "I wanted to restore you, so Jinx whipped up a potion to make you flesh and blood again".

While someone else might have wanted more information on that subject, Terra accepted this and moved on. Not that this was odd as she would have encountered many strange situations and people in life such as hers.

"Slade?" she inquired.

She should know more about this than I did.

"As far as I know he fell down a big hole that had lava at the bottom, and since his kid is trying to kill the Titans it seems he's dead".

If Deathstroke was alive then he would have acted by now, of that I was sure.

"I can control my powers now" Terra told us as all the dirt left over from her transformation neatly piled itself into a nearby bin.

This seemed important to her, but I didn't know why.

"Raven is such a bitch" Jinx said suddenly "She could have fixed you like I did if she'd really wanted to".

That was true as Ray knew a lot about magic too, and even if she hadn't known a potion to restore Terra like Jinx had, then she should have been able to find one by now. She might have even tried and failed because when it came to magic then intent was very important, and Raven didn't like Terra.

That was one of things that made the arcane so different from science. A machine would function the same no matter how the person using it felt, but with magic the wrong emotion could drastically change the outcome of spell.

"I bet she left me like that on purpose" Terra then said "She never liked me, and I never liked her".

This was encouraging to hear,

"I owe you one for getting rid of Slade, so you don't owe me for arranging your return" I told Terra "But if you want to make Raven pay, then I have a plan that might interest you".

That got her attention.

"Nothing lethal" I told her "I just want you to go to Titan Tower and try to get Beast Boy to forgive you".

Terra misunderstood where I was going with all this.

"If this is some plan to hurt them then you made a mistake bringing me back" she warned.

I raised my hands in the universal symbol for peace.

"Like I said before: I owe you for Slade" I told her "That's the main reason I brought you back. The fact that your return will annoy Raven is a more of a bonus really. Demon-girl and I had a sort of breakup, and she destroyed my bike to get at me so I want to get back at her".

A moment later some sort of realisation struck Terra.

"Hold on, you're that Red-X" she said "Slade's apprentice who ran away. I think he was looking for you".

Her memory of this would also be clouded due to my wish.

"And you made sure he would never find me" I replied "And I know it wasn't for me, but still I'm grateful".

Either the blonde took me at my word or stopped caring as she went from suspicious of me to sad.

"I can't just move back into the tower" she lamented as she sat down on the floor "They all must hate me".

Heroes had a habit of giving people second chances, and trying to see the best in others. At times it could be very foolish, but it was an admirable virtue.

"Well you can stay here until you sort yourself out" I offered "Just make sure you tell the Titans that you're living here. I don't someone following you and thinking this is all some crazy scheme".

Just restoring Terra was enough for one day, besides this was yet another action that would confuse the heck out of the Titans and that was reward enough for me.

"You'd let me stay here?" the confused girl asked.

I wouldn't have dragged her down here if she wasn't welcome to stay.

"Sure" I told her "And if the Titans don't want you back then you can join the Shadow Squad".

Her facial expression told me she needed to know more.

"We're like a team of super crooks who do stuff for money" I explained "Nothing that hurts people, we steal stuff from big companies and we've even helped the Titans out".

Terra thought things over.

"I guess I could stay for a while" she said "I think I might need some time before I face BB".

With that settled I moved on to other important business.

"Well I figure it's time for dinner" I told the two girls "Whose up for some Chinese?"

Terra's rumbling stomach answered for her.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"Terra this is Gizmo, Mammoth, Blackfire and Kyd Wyykd" I said introducing my gang to the potential member "And of course you already met Jinx".

Since it was dinner time we were all sitting around the living room while eating out of boxes of takeaway. I didn't doubt that it was odd to see a team of super villains doing something so normal, but the former Titan adapted quickly, she even sat on the floor and started eating.

"We've met before" Blackfire informed us all.

Terra gave the alien princess a long look and then almost stood up in shock as she remembered my other sexual partner.

"Let me guess" I said "You all went out on Girl's Night".

It wouldn't surprise me as apparently Rose had attended the last one as she wanted to murder all the Titans. The whole thing was super freaky in my book.

"That's when I first met T here" Jinx informed me "But she didn't stick around for very long some monster was on the lose".

Terra looked confused.

"I don't remember that" the former Teen Titan admitted.

For once that had nothing to do with my wish. Terra simply hadn't fully recovered from her time as an art exhibit. Something like that would naturally take time. Which was why I was trying to ease the super powered girl back into real life. It might have been more fun to leave her all confused on the Titan's front door, but I wasn't a cruel person.

"I tried to kill her to get at Starfire one time" Fire said as if was no big deal "But don't worry I'm so past that phase now. I'm more into humiliating her these days".

I was about to warn Terra not to ask about that, but I was too late.

"Why?" she question.

Those of us who knew what was coming sighed as the evil alien began a five minute lecture that went into great detail about why Blackfire felt that Starfire was personally responsible for the misfortune in her life. Even Terra, who had actually been interested to start with, began to nod off towards the end of the speech.

"You know you guys are a lot like BB and his friends" our guest said when we all started talking again "Super powered people all living together like they are normal. It's nice".

Well that was one way of looking at it, and it was a nice one given that Mammoth was eating a food container rather than use his chopsticks to take the food out of the box.

"So what about that plan to..." Jinx stared to say.

She didn't want to go into things with someone who wasn't in the group so she stopped, and Terra picked up on that.

"I can go eat in my room" she said.

In my view it would be easier just to change the subject.

"We can take care of thing tomorrow night" I said to Jinx before turning back to Terra "I'll pop out and get your stuff from Slade's out place after dinner".

I didn't think she'd want to sleep in the armour she was wearing,

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?" the former Titan asked "I don't want to impose on you".

Everyone assured her that it was fine.

"We're trying to get new members" I told our guest "But there's no pressure to join us. The Titans need more people too".

That made Gizmo laugh.

"Maybe with you they might win a fight" he said.

Again Terra was confused.

"We've been running rings around them recently" I explained "But they aren't striking back because they have worse things to deal with".

And we had plans of our own too, which was why we weren't currently robbing Jump City blind.

"There's no desert" Blackfire then complained "I have seven stomachs to fill here".

At least she was eating slowly for a change. Normally she ate alone because of her complete lack of anything resembling table manners and she could empty the pantry faster than a family of hungry racoons.

"I'll pick up something on the way back" I assured her.

For some reason I was in the mood for cheesecake.

"Should I come with you?" Terra asked "I left a lot of stuff there".

That was a very bad idea as I'd just remembered something important.

"Ravager is after the Titans because she thinks they were working with you as part of a plan to kill Slade" I told Terra "I don't know if she's camped out there, but it's best she doesn't see you".

I could move around unseen on cameras so Rose could be doing her super villain thing in the basement and never know I was there. Which meant the only thing I had to worry about was Ravager wondering why someone had taken Terra's stuff. But she might not even be there, and even she did figure it out it didn't matter as Slade's daughter would be spying on the Titans so she would soon discover Terra's return no matter what I did.

"So keep your guard up" I warned the geomancer "She might come after you if she hasn't gotten over her issues by now".

Rose was more messed up than evil, so she might move on with her life. However I doubted it as she was a DC villain.

"She can't be worse than her Dad" Terra said dismissively.

Hopefully she wouldn't come to regret those words.

"Right I'm off to get T's stuff" I said when I'd finished my food "Get the van ready, Giz".

We had work to do and if Rose was there I would need the backup.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author Note**

Another good chapter I think. Some more action.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **H.I.V.E School – Under The Sea**

"Tell me again why we aren't making Raven suffer more for destroying your bike?" Jinx asked me as we crawled through the air vents "Don't get me wrong I like spending time with you, but this really isn't my idea of a good time".

The answer to her question was a simple one.

"Business before pleasure" I told her "We can do something you enjoy later on".

Since she was behind me I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was smiling right now.

"Promise?" she said.

I could tell by her voice that she had something in mind that I would also enjoying taking part in.

"Promise" I confirmed.

That was when the section of the vent we'd been climbing through suddenly collapsed, and before I could do more than be surprised the whole thing hit the floor below us.

Once we were sure that the fall was over we stepped out of the vent and some lights came on. Then I saw that we were in a large room that was filled with bad guys so I readied myself to fight.

"Shall we dance?" I taunted.

The men had laser weapons, but that didn't matter as the bad guys were aiming at where we were rather than were we were going. However I knew that sooner or later one of the goons would get lucky so I threw down some smoke, and then I ran at the thugs. I punched and kicked them out, one by one with my martial arts moves.

Sadly for me more men with guns started to pile into the room, and while Jinx was able to bring them great misfortune thanks to her powers, there were simply too many of them for her to fight.

So I used my own sci fi weapon and fired energy blasts at the guys while running across the room. I hit a few of them, and while they wore body armour that didn't mean I hadn't killed a few, but this was life and death. Not for me perhaps, however it was just that for my girl and I did not want her to die.

The men kept firing their lasers, but now most of them were focused on me and while they all missed I didn't want to press my luck so I teleported across the large room and started to kick ass at close range yet again.

I then used a giant X shape to stick a group of the thugs in place, and they were like fish stuck in a net. I could have killed them all at that point, but I was no murderer I was only a thief.

Then all the sudden the silence went away, and someone started clapping. This confused me so I turned around and sought out the source of the noise.

On a balcony above me there was Brother Blood and he looked very impressed by what he saw.

"That was quiet a show there!" the super villain said to me. " _Well_ done my boy, well done indeed!".

Despite the wards we had sown into our clothing and our stealth skills the Headmaster had somehow known we were coming, and he had prepared a trap. To do that he must have also known our exact route, which meant either my girlfriend had tipped him off or Brother Blood had means of detecting people that even I couldn't counter.

"What the hell is this?" Jinx asked.

Brother Blood floated down from the balcony and landed next to me. He looked as if he didn't consider me to be a threat to his well being. Which was a big mistake.

"So _you're_ Red X!" he said with a smile "I've heard _so_ much about you my boy. The Prince of Thieves, the one crook the Titans can never, never catch!".

In this case flattery would not get him anywhere.

"Oh brother!" I said with sighed.

I could already tell that this guy was a typical villain. Aside from the fact that he had crappy henchmen he was also arrogant, and he loved the sound of his own voice.

"Brother _Blood_ " he corrected.

Another way of identifying the classic super-criminal stereotype was that fact that they wanted everyone to know the name they had chosen for themselves. Even when it was rubbish.

"Yeah I know all about you" I said.

I'd tried to sound bored, but with the voice distorting feature of my mask I wasn't sure if he'd pick up on that.

"And I know all about _you_!" replied the evil headmaster "You're such a talented young man, yet all you do is waste your potential".

Considering that in my short career I'd been Slade Wilson's apprentice and now I was the leader of a band of super powered crooks I thought I'd been doing rather well.

"You only use your abilities to steal" Blood was now saying to me "But in time you could become a world famous super-criminal, if you were to join _my_ academy!"

Technically I'd be rejoining as I had been a H.I.V.E student in the past.

"I think not" I told him.

My refusal struck a nerve with Brother Blood.

"Is that so?" he said with an evil smile "Because I've a feeling that I have an offer for you. One that you simply _can't_ refuse!"

That was when his eyes began to glow and for a moment I thought he was going to go all demonic on me, but nothing magical happened all I felt was an strange urge to obey the headmaster only I found it very easy to ignore.

"I see a very bright future for you" Blood went on to say "And for Jinx as well".

To my shame I'd totally forgotten about Jinx for a moment, but she was there standing right by my side. Sadly as it turned out, she was no longer on my side.

"Yes, master" my girlfriend said.

Now I understood that Brother Blood had some kind of mind control power and that it didn't work on me. I'd seen enough fiction to know the signs brainwashing when I saw them, and I also knew that it might be a good idea to play along so the bad guy would lower his guard.

"Follow me" Blood then order. "Let me show you what I'm doing."

Brother Blood walked on down the halls and my girl followed behind him. I soon got into the spirit of things and walked beside her. But I spared a glance at the goons behind me, and I was pleased to note that all of them could stand. Which meant I hadn't killed anyone, and it also told me that they had energy absorbing armour of some kind.

When we got to a lab of some kind the Headmaster explained that his students were working another 'class project'. I knew some of them from my time at the first H.I.V.E school and others were known to me thanks to the files the Titans had. The ones I knew were Private HIVE. Billy Numerous. See-More, and Angel who had all been in the classes below mine back when Slade had pulled me out.

"Students" Blood said, getting their attention "Meet your new classmates, Red-X and Jinx".

There was a polite round of applause. It was forced of course because they were also under the evil Headmaster's control.

"Now let me explain our class project" Brother Blood then said to Jinx and I "The chemicals you see are harmless by themselves, but when allowed to mix they create a concoction many times more devastating even than napalm".

This was not good. Brother Blood was clearly one of those 'wants to see the world burn' types.

"Thanks to my genius I have built a submarine of my own design" the Headmaster told me "and with the missiles my students are building I plan on destroying the entire of Jump City!".

Now I knew I would have to stop him at all costs.

"Starting with Titan Tower!" the Headmaster then roared.

Now I knew he had to die.

"Why don't I show you my submarine!" Brother Blood said once he had calmed down

Since I was acting like a brainwashed zombie I planned to say nothing unless directly asked for information so I kept my mouth shut as Jinx and I were lead into a room half filled with water. There was the big red submarine, and before I had a chance to study it the mind-controlled students started to install the warheads they'd been filling with special chemicals.

"My sub is just about ready" Blood then said with a manic smile.

I could tell that he wanted me to say something so I did.

"Your plan is brilliant, headmaster" I lied.

In my experience even bad guys as intelligent and controlled as Deathstroke had a blind spot when it came to sycophancy, however while my flattery wasn't heartfelt I had to admit to myself that while his plan was needlessly destructive, it wasn't that badly thought out.

If this submarine just popped up in the bay without warning then it could be firing its weapons at Titan Tower, and the city before anyone would even notice it was there.

"Oh but this is only the start, Red-X!" Blood said to me "Today we burn Jump City, tomorrow the world falls to its knees before us!".

This guy was too crazy and too evil to be allowed to live, yet I couldn't bring myself to just stab him. I was okay with killing in self defence, but murdering someone in cold blood, even if it saved lives, was something I just couldn't bring myself to do.

"I can see it now!" the Headmaster was monologuing "Once you bring your friends here I will have an army of super powered crooks at my command, and with the Titans gone only the Justice League will stand in my way!".

Now I understood why he was so happy to have me here. Having a thief of my skill at his command would be an asset, but what really interested Blood about me was the fact that I led the Shadow Squad.

Between us my team and I had some mad skills. Blackfire was a power house in her own right. Mammoth was strong and tough. Gizmo was a wizard with tech. And Kyd had the funky powers. As for me well he would need a lot of resources to take on the JL and I could have stolen some of what he needed. Heck he might even be able to snag Terra since she hanged out with us.

"Now Red-X..." the Headmaster started to say.

That was when there was a big bang and some alarms went off.

"What is happening?" Blood demanded to know.

A masked minion informed him that some unknown vessels had fired on the base and were now sending soldiers to board this base. If I was right Aquaman and his troops were here. I'd not sent the email to the Daily Planet's Clark Kent that long ago, but he was Superman so he could move fast.

I put that was something I could think more on later as now that I had distraction going on I knew it was time for me to strike. I kicked Brother Blood hard and knocked him to the ground.

"You didn't _really_ think that mind-control trick would work on _me,_ did you?" I mock asked.

I didn't know why it hadn't worked on me, it was something that I would have to look into at a later date. For now I'd just be grateful.

"You traitor" Brother Blood yelled.

Since I'd never been loyal to him this was unfair.

"Oh shut up!" I commanded

Then I was distracted for a moment as I saw Shayera wading into the thugs who worked for Blood with her Nth metal mace.

"Destroy them all!" the Headmaster ordered.

I felt something hit me and I realised that Jinx was attacking me. Which meant she was still under Blood's control.

"Snap out of it, babe" I requested of her.

After knocking my girl down I looked around and I saw that Blood's people were all fighting Aquaman's troops. I could have jumped into help as both Shayera and the King of Atlantis knew me, but that didn't mean the soldiers wouldn't shoot me on sight.

This wasn't a concern for long however as I had trouble of my own. Jinx was not making this easy on me. I tried to restrain her but because of her power she could make my tricks go wrong. X's would fly in the wrong direction and she knew enough hand to hand to stop me from knocking her out the old fashioned way.

Not that I was trying that hard to beat her so that left me with only one option. I had to use the power of the Old Ones.

" _Nnn- Lloig Uaaad"_ (Protect, Mind Spell)

It worked like a charm. Jinx's regained control of herself as my spell shielded her mind from Blood's mind control power. I didn't know if she was free now, or just shielded for the time being, but it was better than having to hurt her or letting me get hurt.

"Okay that was weird" Jinx said while shaking her head.

While I wanted to give her time to recover, and to comfort her due to the ordeal, I didn't think there was time for that.

"Hahahahaha!" I then heard Blood say as he ran into his submarine.

I was right, we didn't have the time and if we didn't stop the super crook he would still destroy Jump City even if he lost his base.

"Come on" I said while dragging Jinx towards the submarine.

We got into the submarine just before the hatches all closed and seconds later we were speeding away towards Jump City.

"Follow me" I said to Jinxy.

She did just that and we headed towards the front of the craft as I figured that was where the bridge would be. The sub was much bigger on the inside that I had thought, but thankfully it was not so big that we got turned around.

"I've waited so long for this moment!" I heard a Blood call out.

Without delay I raced onto the bridge.

"Can I _help_ you?" a voice then said from behind me.

I turned around in surprise to see Brother Blood, and he had a sadistic smile on his face. I made a move, but I soon found myself pinned the wall with what I guessed to be telekinetic force.

"How nice of you to join me, X" the Headmaster remarked

With that I dropped to the ground and I tried to attack Blood only he pinned me the wall again.

"I think he's mad at you" commented Jinx.

My girlfriend then tried to fight the Headmaster, but he somehow created a shield that defeated her attacks.

"You can't stop me" the bad guy told us "My submarine will soon reach its target and the computer will fire automatically".

Which meant we had little in the way of time, and when he took out Jinx with a blast of red coloured energy I knew had to do something fast or we would all die.

"Hahaha! X marks the _spot_!" Blood taunted.

Now it was my turn. Hurting Jinx had been enough to destroy any reservations I had about killing the Headmaster.

" _Throd Uaaah"_ (Tremble. Spell)

The sub shook and that caused Blood to lose his focus enough that I was no longer pinned to the wall. Before he could recover I leaped up into the air and I threw some X stars at him. Blood used his forcefield to block all the shots, but that was fine as I'd known he would do that.

"You _can't_ defeat me X!" Blood taunted.

I kicked Blood in the face just as he tried to grab me. Then I turned around intending to attack once more, but I found myself being thrown out of the bridge and into the part of the sub where the missiles were currently inserting themselves into firing tubes.

When I noticed a nearby computer I started hitting some buttons and image of the missiles showed up, but I was denied a chance to disarm them when I got knocked on my ass yet again.

"Leave him alone!" I heard Jinx shout out.

When Blood turned to face my girlfriend I took out my gun and shot him in the back three times without even thinking about it . The man was wearing armour, but after the third shot he dropped the floor with a loud clang as metal met metal.

I got up and disarmed the WMD's, which was surprisingly easy as the computer offered no barriers. I assumed that Blood hadn't predicted that anyone unfriendly would be inside the submarine.

:Firing Sequence Aborted: a machine voice reported.

This was very good news.

"And Red-X saves the day!" I cheered softly.

My mirth was sadly short lived as the Headmaster was still with us.

"You little punk. I will destroy you!" Blood promised with a snarl.

Being immortal I wasn't much worried about his threats. The worse he could do to me was cause me pain. However rather than do that he turned to Jinx and used his telekinetic powers to choke her.

This enraged me and I threw my magical sickle at her, it morphed into a scythe once it had left my hand but this didn't slow it down, and neither did the shield Blood raised.

The magical weapon went right through the bad guy's defences, and the blade of the scythe went into his chest. It was kind of cool right up until the Headmaster started vomiting up a lot of the red stuff.

Still that didn't stop me from trying to recover the scythe, but before I could I saw Blood use his last moments of life to press some buttons on his wrist band.

:Self Destruct Armed: the machine voice informed as I recovered my weapon :Please Make Your Way To The Nearest Exit:

As there was no count down I just moved as fast as I could. I grabbed Jinx and made my way to the nearest hatch. It was locked, but I could easily handle such things.

Soon we were outside the sub and I called for a pickup over the radio now that the channels were clear. As planned Blackfire had been waiting for us and she was strong enough to both fly Jinxy and me back to Shadow Squad HQ.

Blackfire grabbed us just in time for me to watch the sub explode into a thousand pieces as the sun came up over the horizon. It was a pretty sight to see.


	13. Chapter 13

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Baby Store – Jump City**

Just yesterday morning I had saved this city, with some help from Jinx, and mere hours ago I'd been allowed to briefly visit the city of Atlantis in order to be reward by Aquaman in person for aiding him in removing so many dangerous enemies from his underwater domain.

In thanks I'd been presented with a chest full of shiny things that must have come from a sunken treasure ship. The gold was Aztec, and there were jewels as well. I suspected that the booty had came from back when Hernando Cortés was off conquering what was now Mexico for the Spanish.

The following day, which was now, I was being dragged around stores, and made to fork a small fortune in order to supply a baby, that had not yet been born, with all everything an infant could ever require. Overall it was a big let down from what I had been doing recently.

At least Starfire was enjoying herself, her eyes were wide with excitement as she flew around the store. She was looking at cribs, baby pajamas, bottles, stuffed toys, and anything else you could possibly imagine that a baby could ever need or want.

Raven trailed after her team mate slowly, not the least bit amused by her friend's antics, and I could tell that she was somewhat embarrassed to be in a store of this kind.

"Friend Raven, what about this one?" Starfire pointed to a large pink crib that had many bows and ribbons hanging from it's bars.

Already I wanted to vomit.

"I will not have my child sleep in anything PINK" Raven replied grumpily. "Especially if it's a boy".

That would be rather traumatic for the poor fella.

"You informed me that the child will be a girl" Starfire then said.

This was news to me.

"How do you know?" I asked.

Raven bit her lip before answering. She was most likely nervous about how I'd react to not being told this information. After all she had told me that she was pregnant via a message rather than face to face.

"I went to see some fortune tellers" she explained "Real ones I mean. They are all say we're having a mostly human, healthy baby girl".

The 'mostly human' part didn't alarm me as I did live with people who were 'mostly human' or not human at all. People in Jump City didn't seem to care much about aliens being around.

I did care about the 'healthy baby girl' part, it made the whole thing seem more real than the shopping ever could.

"A plain white cot will do" Raven then said "We can have it delivered to the tower".

That would cost me extra, but it would also mean I didn't have to lug anything to the Titan's home base. Which was good.

"Now onto the clothes of babies!" Starfire decided.

Logic would suggest that since infants were small that their clothes would be cheaper because less material was used in their creation. However when it came to shopping then logic meant nothing. The tiny outfits cost me more than my own clothing did.

"Oh look at the tiny Red-X dolls!" Starfire exclaimed

The bloody plushies were back.

"How am I a suitable toy for impressionable youths?" I asked myself in a whisper "I'm a freaking super villain".

Raven heard me, and she smiled slightly before answering my question.

"I always thought you were cuddly" she told me "And your not really a villain. Your heroic sometimes, and just selfish the rest of the time".

That was more or less the case.

"I've been called worse" I said.

Then I took out my communicator because it had vibrated. It looked like a flip phone, only it was much more advanced and it had the ability to receive pictures. Jinx had sent me a picture of herself lying on my bed in her just her bra and knickers. I knew she hadn't taken the picture because then there was also one of Blackfire that couldn't have been takenb by her. It was pretty clear to me that they were trying to remind me what I had waiting for me at home.

"Hi" a voice then said.

We all turned around, to find a group of teenaged girls who all seemed to be fascinated by us.

"Umm...may I help you?" Raven inquired,

A dark haired girl seemed to be in charge, she looked very preppy and hyper. I could instantly tell that Ray would regret engaging this teenager in conversation.

"Hi, my friends and I couldn't help noticing that you're the girls from the Teen Titans" said the teenager.

I was surprised that Starfire hadn't already tried to hug any of them, but she was distracted by tiny shoes and to be fair even I found them cute and I was a guy.

"Yeah, what of it?" Raven asked.

I knew this wasn't going to go well.

"We just wanted to know what you would be doing in a store like this" the leader of the small mob said.

I was pretty sure that these girls had seen us in here and had come inside just to bother the Titans.

"What do you think we're doing here?" was Ray's reply.

Judging by her sarcasm Raven had been attempting to discourage any further talking, sadly for her it didn't work.

"Oh my God!" another girl screamed "One of you is pregnant?"

I couldn't resist saying something.

"Well its not me" I said.

Unlike me Raven kept her mouth shut, but Starfire didn't see any problem answering with the truth.

"We are here because..." the alien started to say.

Raven slapped her hand over Starfire's mouth before the super powered alien could give it all away.

"Heh, we're here to shop for my...uh...cousin" the Titan answered, "She's having a baby shower, and I wanted to get her something".

None of them believed that, but they did at least have the decency to change the subject.

"So you must be Robin" the leader of the pack of teenage girls then said to me.

That made me laugh.

"No he is not Friend Robin" Starfire said "He is...".

Again she was prevented from speaking, but this time it was by me.

"I am just their walking ATM machine" I told the girls.

At least that was what I felt like.

"He's Red-X" Raven then said.

I closed the communicator, which had been vibrating again, and I glared at the part-demoness.

"You can't just go around telling people who I am" I told her "Someone will call the police".

They wouldn't catch me, but that wasn't the point.

"You're wearing a Red-X t-shirt" Raven pointed out "And your shopping with Starfire and me, so it's not hard to figure out".

There were now Red-X t-shirts for sale. Granted they were just black tops with slashes of red on them, but unlike the plushies I liked the t-shirts, they were comfy.

"Besides even if they did arrest you the mayor would order you freed" Ray said "You saved the city from Brother Blood. Heck he'd erect a statue if you were willing to endorse his re-election.

The gaggle of girls waited until the Titan finished speaking before they asked me for my autograph.

"Will you leave us in peace if I do?" I asked them.

Once they agreed to do that I willingly signed a few things and they all scampered off.

"Now we purchase the table of changing" Starfire told us.

She had brought a list of things. Which was helpful.

"This is wonderful!" the alien then said "Oh what joy a little bumgorf does bring!"

While I could hazard a guess I had to ask.

"What is a bumgorf?"

The princess from another planet answered promptly.

"One who is taken care of by their Knorfka" I was told.

I then turned to Raven.

"If she suggests any names then ignore her" I insisted.

Starfire was already being distracted by something else so she wasn't offended by my words.

"I already chose a name" Raven informed me "I'm going to call her Arella after my mother".

That sounded like a nice name. so I nodded to show my agreement with her choice. Not that Ray asked for it.

"You know you're are going to have to come over and set everything up" the purple haired Titan then said to me "That's a Dad's job".

Judging by the amount of stuff we were buying that could take hours, and that was assuming Starfire didn't find more things that would sent to the Tower in flat pack boxes.

"This is going to be a hell of a pregnancy" I said to myself.

Given that Raven was part demon that could quite literal,

(Line Break)

 **Titan Tower – Jump City**

"You know I once help put together a flying motorcycle and I know more about robotics than anyone on my version of Earth" I told Raven "Yet for some reason I can't assemble this cot".

In frustration I tossed the two parts I had been holding across what would in a matter of months be my daughter's nursery.

"Well I tried to put it together with my powers, but it just fell apart" Ray said to me.

Had it worked I would have been impressed by the Titan's amazing ability to manipulate objects with dark energy. However as soon as she had stopped using her powers the cot had fallen apart. Apparently even her magic was no match for an IKEA product

"Hey" said a female voice as someone else entered the room "Errm should you be here?"

It had been Terra who had asked that question, and it was understandable why she would as I was an enemy of the Titans. At least when I wasn't saving their lives.

"The boys don't know he's Red-X" Raven explained as I sat down on the floor and once more tried to assemble the cot "Call him Gothic, it's his name when he's in Tower".

I found it amusing that all the girls in the Tower knew who I was, but the guys were clueless. It made me wonder what the women in my life knew that I didn't.

"Whose Red-X?" a male voice then asked.

Beast Boy had followed T into the room that would be nursery, assuming I ever got around to decorating it.

"No one" Terra said quickly "Go play video games, now".

I'd just a sight rarer than Bigfoot: A woman who wanted a man to play games rather pay attention to her.

"You know I should really paint the celling put the wallpaper up first" I said to Raven "That way I won't stain the baby's stuff".

In hindsight I should have thought of that sooner.

"Well I was going to cover everything with some sheets" Ray said "But if you want to start decorating now then that's fine".

I was suspicious of how well we were getting along.

"You might need a few days to get that done, and I guess it would be easier if everything was out of the way" the Titan then added.

Now I was starting to see why she was so easy going right now. I would in fact need to visit a few times to do all that work. Which would give her plenty of chances to make Jinx jealous.

"Hold on a second" Terra demanded "I know your having a baby and all that, but don't you think that Robin, a person who was trained by Batman, will figure out who you are?".

I wasn't that worried.

"Not that long ago I stayed here for two days by myself" I informed T "And he let me. He hasn't a got clue".

That was when Raven walked past Terra and I got worried.

"Robin!" she shouted loudly "Red-X is here!".

I was too shocked to do anything as the Boy Wonder came running into the room with his bo staff in hand.

"Where is he?" the hero asked.

It was a struggle not to laugh.

"See not a clue" Ray said to the blonde before turning to Robin "Gothic is Red-X".

Even then it took him a moment to process that, and in that time I realised that secret identities are actually harder to figure out than it might seem.

"He saved the entire city!" Raven then added "And us so don't you dare hurt him".

It was sweet that she was worried but I could handle Bird Boy. It was his mentor who worried me.

"X!" Robin shouted "What are you doing here!".

I lifted up only part of the cot I had managed to put together.

"Failing at DIY" I told him.

He then needed another moment to come to terms with things.

"Well you did save the city" he mumbled.

Actually it hadn't been the first time. Robin was forgetting about how I'd saved him and I'd helped him stop Professor Chang.

"Twice now" I reminded him "How many times have you done it?".

Rather than answer the Boy Blunder just glared at me, then Raven coughed to get his attention. They started at each other for a while, and not long after the leader of the Titans collapsed his staff.

"Fine" the hero said as he relaxed his body slightly "But I'll be watching you, X".

When Robin left the room I had to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ray asked.

Since she knew I had a book on warding magic there was no point in not telling her.

"I've got those wards that hide me from being seen indirectly, sown into the inside of clothing" I explained "So I won't show up on his surveillance systems. It will drive him nuts".

Terra left the room suddenly and then returned with something that passed for a digital camera. When she tried to take my picture I made a funny face, and then she checked the image.

"Wow it's like your totally invisible, only everyone can still see you!" T nearly shouted.

It was weird how much sense that made to me.

"I am going to tell BB about this" the geomancer then said "He will get a kick out of it".

With that she ran out of the room again. Which left me free start putting everything away again.

"Can you put up those 'not see me' wards and Angel proof the same room?" Raven then inquired of me.

Actually that wasn't possible, but before I discussed that there was something else I wanted to talk about.

"I get why you don't want demon proofing" I said "But why are worried about angels. Do they even really exist?".

Demons were real, so that strongly suggested celestial powers also existed, but it didn't prove.

"Of course they do" said Raven "And they don't like anything infernal".

The baby would be one quarter demonic so making it almost impossible for the halo brigade to see her or get into this room would be wise.

"I'd have to put Angel proofing on the outside of the room" I told Raven "It might be easier to do the whole tower. I can use paint that's only visible in the ultraviolet spectrum. For the baby's room I was planning on wallpapering over the runes as they still work that way".

That would take longer, but the extra security was worth it.

"She'll need soft carpet for when she starts crawling, but don't worry about baby proofing the tower, Cyborg has that covered".

I was glad someone was pulling their weight around here.

"So your going to put up wards in her, and on the tower, paint the celling, then do the wallpaper, put down some soft carpet, assemble the cot and some draws for her clothes. Oh and then we need to go get toys" Raven said, all without taking a breathe "That's going to take you weeks, and it needs to be done because I'm not sure if we have seven more months".

Now I was worried, and this wasn't a good time for Terra to return or for Starfire to follow her in.

"Use the camera!" the blonde was soon saying.

Since I was still packing things back into boxes it wouldn't have made for a good photo even she could have taken one.

"How long could it take?" I asked "A month more, three months, four".

Raven didn't look worried.

"I might have to go through the full nine months" the Titan said "The mystics I went to see weren't helpful with dates. But I have an appointment at S.T.A.R labs next week as they have people who specialise in alternate biologies. It's next Monday at two, don't be late".

This was all happening very fast.

"With everything I have do I might still be here on Monday" I said.

It wouldn't be ideal weekend, but the worked needed to be done. But I still had the rest of this week so I might get it done.

"Oh I can prepare the guest room!" Starfire said in way that made it seem as if the chore would both be challenging and rewarding "The pillows will be fluffed!".

Perhaps Blackfire was the oddest alien I knew.

"I don't think I should sleep here too" I told the ladies "I do have a team to run and I have girlfriends waiting for me".

As my mere mentioning of her had triggered the act my communicator buzzed me. I opened and saw that Blackfire had sent me a dirty text. It wasn't all in English, but I got the idea of what she had meant to say.

"Oh Jinx will love that" Terra said in a sarcastic tone.

Indeed she would be irate if I spent the night here.

"Maybe you could just take a nap in the guest room so you don't hurt Star's feelings" Raven suggested before she changed the subject rather randomly "I'm going to make you a sandwich".

Terra gave me a worried look.

"Be careful" she warned "Raven can set water on fire. I'm not kidding I saw her do it".

Then she gave me an even more worried look.

"I'll go help her" T decided.

Once the girls had all left the room I was finally able to start work.

"Fatherhood is hard" I told myself.

I was already tired and the baby hadn't even been born yet.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author Note**

I am working on a Halloween two parter for this story, but I'm having some trouble making it scary so I wrote this chapter to tide people over in case I don't manage to get the scary parts of the story up.

This part isn't scary per say, but had things been a little different then it could have been quite the fright for Red-X.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Haunted**

 **Pier – Jump City**

It was Halloween tomorrow and it was now Friday night. Which meant the town was already full of kids trick-or-treating, and people dressed up as they headed out to parties. Apprantly everyone was making a weekend of it.

The Shadow Squad, like a lot of young adults were out having fun at the carnival. This was the one time of the year that odd looking meta-humans and aliens could walk around with drawing any attention to themselves.

Not that people tended to throw stones at freaks in these parts, but even the open minded people in Jump City would still gawk when people like Mammoth walked down the street.

As for me I looked almost normal. Rather than don my Red-X suit I had put on a black t-shirt with a bright red X splashed across the front and the back, and that was under a black shirt. I was also wearing tight black jeans than Jinx had gotten for me.

It was a warm autumn evening so I forgone a jacket. How I still managed to hide a knife on my person as while we were out to have fun that didn't mean I had suddenly become a foool.

The smell of fresh pumpkin pie, popcorn, and other foods filled the air as my gang and I discussed why tomorrow was a special day.

"What is Halloween?" Blackfire asked me.

Before I could answer Gizmo spoke up.

"It's the one night a year that being small pays off" he said "I can get free candy without getting into trouble".

He did look like a kid, so trick-or-treating was an option for him.

"Tomorrow night the 31st of October, is the Celtic festival of Samhain" I explained "My ancestors believed that it was the night when ghosts could cross back into this world from the afterlife. They also thought that if the ghosts were appeased with offerings then the spirits would protect them during the harsh winter".

In truth most British people were descended from many groups as my island nation had been conquered a few times, and lots of people had immigrated to the UK over the centuries. Plus most Celtic traditions had been either forgotten or had been greatly changed due to the rise of Christianity. However despite all that change a few things had survived over the centuries. For example Christmas had once been a Celtic festival as well.

"Well that's what some people thinl" Jinx said in a way that made it clear she though I was wrong "For those of us who paid attention in history we know that we celebrate Halloween because its the day before All Saints Day, and that's when we are suppose to remember the dead. The legend is that on the night before All Saints, which is tomorrow all the spirits of our departed loved ones come to visit. People used to leave offerings of sweet food on their doors to appease the ghosts".

I was of the opinion that the early church had just ripped off a load of pagan cultures when making their holidays. Which had actually been a smart move as it helped people to adapt to the new faith. However it also meant that people had forgotten the truth.

"So humans used to think that dead people would come to your house looking for candy?" Blackfire asked "And this led to people dressing up and eating a lot of sugar?"

Well that was one way of looking at it.

"Sort of" I answered "Humans didn't very long until recently, and a lot of our history wasn't recorded very well, or it was and then it got mixed up with stories".

Blackfire mulled that over.

"So your just a bunch of primitives" she concluded.

I couldn't disagree.

"Yep we are funny monkeys" I said.

By now everyone else had gotten bored of the discussion so I decided to drop the subject and let someone else talk.

"Let's get something to eat" Mammoth decided.

Food sounded good.

"Good idea" Gizmon agreed with a grin.

That was when I realised I'd left my wallet in my coat.

"I'll be back" I told everyone "I just need to get my jacket. Then I can buy everyone yummy things".

Blackfire was now happy.

"Good, I want to eat cotton candy, the apples, and then play the silly games!" she said "And then you have to win me a big stuffed animal like those boyfriends do on the documentaries".

It seemed that the alien babe still hadn't grasped that most things on TV were fictional. I could have sworn I'd explained it, but it was possible she didn't care enough to listen to me when I lectured her, and this wasn't the time or the place for such things.

"Brb" I told everyone as left the peir.

Before long I saw a group of loud rowdy group of drunken teens in a dark ally. They were laughing at and taunting someone. I disliked bullies so I took a few steps in their direction as I was now intending to beat them up. When I got closer I could hear a terrified girl begging to be left alone. This pissed me off even more so I cracked my knuckles and stormed over to them without delay. They didn't noticed me until I got their attention with a cough.

"What?..." one of them asked.

He might have said more but he was silenced by my fist smashing into his sneering face. The guy collapsed with a thud and the others turned to stare at me.

"What the hell is your problem, dude?" a bully questioned as the group started to back away "You looking for trouble?".

I smiled before I answered them.

"Yes" I told them.

The rest of the little punks didn't last long enough for me to even get a good look at their faces. Most of what I saw next was them all running away like the cowards they really were.

"Drunken idiots are so pathetic" I muttered before I turned the girl I had intended to save. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?".

By the looks of things the blonde hadn't been harmed even though the gits had been tormenting for their amusement. They might have done more than merely upset her, but I had insured that they had never gotten the chance.

"Those guys were creeps" the young woman said "I was in juvie with them, and they all picked on me because of my Dad".

That didn't make sense to me because as far as I knew even prisons for teenagers tended to separate boys and girls, but perhaps that wasn't always the case.

"You're a princess" I said when noticing her costume "They must have been jealous of how pretty you are".

The girl giggled as I escorted her to a more well lit area. When we got to a street light I realised that I had met her before.

She was Kitten the daughter of Killer Moth, and she had in fact dressed as a princess. The young woman was a frilly pink dress and she had a wand too, so she might in fact be a fairy princess, but I didn't comment on that.

"Are you Red-X?" the young villain then asked me.

The t-shirt sort of gave it away. In retrospect it had been mistake to wear it, but given that it was Halloween I hadn't thought anyone would pay it any attention as I'd seen a few people dressed in copies of my outfit. Of course they take on entire gang by themeselves and win.

"Yes, but don't tell anyone" I said in a joking tone.

If I'd denied it she wouldn't have believed me, so I was trying to give her the impression that I was just a fan. However that didn't stop her from expressing her thanks with a big kiss on the lips.

"Heroes get to kiss the princess" she then said.

Given that she was a little shaken up I decided to pretend she hadn't kissed me, and I walked to a bench so she could sit down.

"You should be okay now" I told Kitten.

Before she could say anything I slipped back into the darkness of the side streets and then I made my way up a fire escape. I wanted to get back home and find my jacket before my friends started to miss and if I struck to the streets I'd only get delayed further as there were plenty more drunk idiots around for me to punch.

"Hello, X" a familiar voice then said

I was on a rooftop, so I should have been alone. Only I wasn't.

"Slade" I whispered as I turned to face him.

My whole body then froze up and I felt cold. It was fear that paralysed me I couldn't even blink.

"Good to see you again" said Deathstroke casually.

Feeling was now returning to the tips of my fingers, and while I didn't have my utility belt on that didn't mean I was lacking weapons.

"You too" I replied.

It wasn't true, but I'd learned to treat Wilson with respect.

"I'm touched that you missed me, X" Slade went on to say "If I had known, I would have came back sooner".

The question now going through my mind was: Back from where?

"What do you want?" was what I actually asked

He wore a mask, but somehow I just knew that the face behind it was smiling at me.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, my apprentice" he said.

Slade chuckled, something I'd never heard him do before. Then when he started running away while laughing, that made me suspicious as Deathstroke had no reason to run from me and he didn't laugh either. Which meant someone was playing with me, and not in the good way.

So once I could move body again I chased 'Slade' but something odd happened, when I followed him to the festival he seemed to vanish into the crowd. Which was impressive because this 'Deathstroke' was as big as the real thing, and given his outfit he tended to be noticeable unless he was trying to hide.

Then I caught a glimpse of the trickster and I chased 'Slade' into one of those Haunted Houses, It was empty, and mostly dark as for some reason it wasn't open for the Halloween celebration going on outside.

While I wasn't scared of plastic skeletons and rubber spiders, I didn't want to fight here as there were too many distractions about for me to focus, so I decided to get out.

"Don't tell me you gotten soft, X" 'Slade' said to me "Time was you never would have given up so easily".

Whoever this person was they had studied my former employer well. The voice was exactly right, and it still had a way of getting under my skin, but I was able to resist the urge to do something reckless.

"I'd be a fool to let my enemy chose the battleground" I told 'Slade' as I made my way to the exit.

It was too dark to see anything clearly, but I could make just about make out that something or someone was moving around. It added to the drama of the scene. But it wasn't why I was shivering.

"Good, you remember what I tried to teach you" 'Slade' then said "I do hope for a better chase the next time we see each other"

If this was some Halloween mischief then I was going to make someone suffer for it.

"There won't be a next time" I promised.

While I was now at the door I didn't leave right away, as my surroundings weren't confusing me so much anymore, and I wasn't shaking any more. In fact I was starting to feel brave,

Perhaps that was because I could now tell where this pretender actually was, at least roughly. So I figured I might be able to find out who it really was if I kept them talking and bided my time.

"Such a shame" 'Slade' was now saying in disappointed tone of voice " I did so I enjoy our time together".

The real Deathstroke had always been a little too obsessed with spending time with physically active teenagers. If not for the fact that he had really been training me I would have thought him to be just an old pervert. Of course that didn't mean he wasn't all creepy in that respect as well.

"That makes one of us" I replied as I reached for the knife I had hidden on my person, it was the one 'Orion' had given me "Persoanlly I always found you to be less than enjoyable company".

Everything was then quiet for a moment and I heard movement. I then suddenly leapt at 'Slade' who swiftly stepped to avoid the slash of my knife. Just like I would have done.

Next I spun around and threw a punch at him. 'Slade' caught my arm and then flipped me over. Before I could attempted to get up 'Slade' stood over me and he had placed a foot on my chest to keep me down.

"How disappointing" the imposter said "You've become sloppy, X".

While I wanted to refute that, he did have a point. I wasn't at my best. Even the idea of Slade had an effect on me and I hadn't done much combat training since I'd made my wish.

Still that didn't mean I was going to give up, only before I even try to use magic or my hands to free myself the pressure on my chest vanish and so did 'Slade'. He'd literally vanished. I'd blinked and he was gone.

"There you are" said Jinx "I though I saw you run in here".

I stood up and looked around. There was no sign of 'Slade'.

"Why were you on the floor?" my girlfriend then asked.

I was confused now as she should have seen him.

"Slade was here" I explained.

Jinx looked worried, but she was worried for me.

"He's dead, X" she reminded me "Terra killed him. He fell into lava. People don't come from back from that".

I knew that. In fact I was sure it wasn't him. It had to be an impersonator. Maybe an upgraded Sladebot, or someone who knew him well who was wearing a replica of his armour.

"Unless he's a ghost" Jinx then said "I mean it is the right night for it, or well it nearly is".

That made me grin despite how worried I was.

"Yeah I mean if anyone could crawl their way out of hell it would be Wilson, he's...".

I stopped then and looked at Jinx.

"You don't think it could be his ghost do you?" I asked.

Jinx was now looking more concerned that she had before.

"I would say no, but the veil between this world and the next is suppose to be weakest right now" she said "but why would he come after you?".

Had I not made the wish it was possible Slade would still be alive as he might never have taken Terra as an apprentice had I been around, but even if he blamed me then he would still go after her first.

"And ghost normally haunt a place" Jinx was now saying "Like the places they died. We aren't even close to the old Steel Mill".

Now I knew where I had to go next. If Slade was back in any shape or form he'd go to his base.

"Or this could be Raven" Jinx suggested "Maybe she whipped some spell to scare you".

I doubted that. We'd been getting along well recently. She was far more likely to try scaring Jinx or Blackfire than me.

"Raven doesn't know I used to work for Slade" I said to my girlfriend "And this ghost, or whatever, does".

Of course that didn't mean it wasn't Ray behind all this as magic didn't always have to make sense even if it have rules. But I didn't think she would do something like conjure up Wilson's spirit as she knew just how dangerous he was. She was dark, but she no fool.

"I still think this is a Halloween prank" Jinx insisted "Someone wants to scare you".

Should this be the case then my list of suspects was short as whoever was behind the prank not only had to know what I looked like behind the mask, but they also had to have spent enough time with Slade to get at least some of his mannerisms right.

"It's Ravager" I deduced.

Rose Wilson knew her father enough to imitate him to some extent, and she had access Deathstroke's resources. Which meant Slade-bots and funky tech. Maybe even a teleporter.

Her plan could be to torment me with a pretend ghost. Possibly as revenge for knocking her off her bike during the Whacky Races we'd had, or perhaps she blamed for deserting her father. Either way I didn't want to spent my entire Halloween chasing around a fake Deathstroke.

"I need to deal with this" I told Jinx "If this more than a trick, then I don't want anyone else in harm's way".

When she didn't protest I was grateful.

"Fine, go fight ghost Slade" she said "But don't come crying to me if it turns out to be a real spirit".

Red-X didn't cry.

(Line Break)

 **Steel Mill – Jump City**

"I was wondering when you would come" 'Slade' said as I jumped down and landed before him. "You never used to be so tardy".

Well I'd had to nip back to headquarters so I could chance into my suit. I couldn't handle someone as dangerous as this fake Deathstroke without my gadgets and weapons.

"How did you disappear so quickly?" I asked bluntly.

Jinx had come through the exit, so unless 'Slade' could teleport she had should have bumped right into him even if he had been invisible.

"The dead have powers beyond those of the living" 'Slade' replied while slowly backing away.

He was rather solid for a ghost, and if he could just pop up where ever he wished then it made no sense for him to have waited here for me. To many things simply didn't add up.

"Well if you are dead then I guess you want mind if I try to kill you" I said to 'Slade'

The 'ghost of Deathstroke' easily leapt up the large pile of gears and I followed. Soon we were leaping from one gear to another, while we did that I wondered what the things were for. I'd never thought about it until now but they seemed rather pointless.

"This brings back memories" 'Slade' commented "I spent so much time up here thinking and planning".

All crooks loved to hear the sound of their own voice so while the ghost, or whatever it was, spoke some more about the past I readied my staff and moved in to attack. Only 'Slade' wasn't where I had thought he would be.

"Getting warm, X" the voice mocked.

I got a little reckless then. I spun around and charged blindly at where I thought the sound was now coming from. I got it wrong again and as it turned out 'Slade' was on a broken catwalk.

"Come now apprentice. I know you can do better than this" fake Deathstroke said "It seems like our time apart has made you weak".

I threw a razor sharp X at him, but 'Slade' caught it and then causally tossed it back at me. This made me realise that fighting was futile so I decided to leave. If this was a ghost then I would have to find a way to exorcise him, and if was an imposter then I needed to find out who he really was in order to defeat him. I couldn't do either of those things right now as I needed space to think.

As I turned away a dozen figures then dropped from the celling. I didn't know how I'd not noticed they were there, but that wasn't important right now. What did matter was that they had me in their grasp.

"What a pity you were doing so well" 'Slade' commented.

The fake Deathstroke then came over towards me and he removed his helmet. Which showed me that it was in fact Ravager who was wearing a copy of her father's armour. It was a good disguise as not only did it hide her female figure it also made her look both taller and larger.

Rose pulled up my mask and then kissed me. This was the second time tonight that a blonde girl had done that. I was noticing a pattern.

"I gotta say I am impressed" Ravager then said "The toxin should have turned you into a gibbering wreak by now, but somehow Kitten's kiss of fear didn't take".

Now I understood, they had been working together the whole time. The scene in the ally had been staged by Rose to attract some heroic idiot. A snare orginally meant for Robin I didn't doubt.

"I guess my fear toxin lipstick doesn't work on you, but I just gave you the antidote to be sure" the blonde woman was now saying "Shame I was hoping you'd think my father was really back from the dead and you were being haunted. I would have tried it on Robin, you really hurt me when you knocked me off my bike".

Hell had no fury like a woman you've knocked of a motorcycle.

"And yeah I know that fear toxin is Scarecrow's gimmick, and that poison lips are Ivy's thing, but if you're going to steal you should steal from the best, but you should know that. I mean you stole your look from the Boy Wonder".

The truth was that I hadn't stolen the suit at all, but everyone seemed to think otherwise no matter what I told them.

"So this was all just a Halloween prank" I summarised "It wasn't very good, and I didn't even get any candy".

Not that getting to kiss two girls in one night wasn't a treat.

"I wasn't trying to kill you" Ravager then said "You'd have recovered from the toxin in a day or two. This was a trail run, as well as a bit of pay back. But for some reason your immune to fear toxin".

Thinking back I realised that I had for a moment been paralysed with fear, and I'd been shaking, but it hadn't lasted long. Clearly my healing power came with some sort of poison neutralising feature.

"So what now" I asked.

With an order the Slade-bots holding me let me go, and Ravager started to walk away.

"Now I go back to the drawing board" she said "You aren't my main concern, the Titans are".

One thing still didn't make sense.

"How did you vanish so quickly when we were inside the haunted house?" I inquired "You couldn't have used the door without Jinx seeing you".

Ravager smirked and then put on the mask again.

"Trade secret" she answered in Slade's voice.

Rose then seemed to melt into the shadows. I decided not to chase her as I wasn't eager to smack a girl around, and she would want to fight if I stuck around much longer.

"Happy Halloween!" she called out as I teleported away.

THE END

Author Note.

Okay so that wasn't scary, and the trick didn't work, but hey this is Red-X. He's very good at messing up other people's plans.


	15. Caged Heat

**Author Note**

I did write a Halloween Special for DC Gothic 0 Red-X, but I didn't think it was any good.

 **DC Gothic - Red-X 2**

 **Caged Heat  
**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

While until now it had been fun to be able to walk onto Titan Tower when I ever wanted, the novelty was now wearing off. Robin kept checking up as I tried to work and Raven kept trying to feed me. Which was bad because the poor girl could barely make a sandwich.

Since I didn't want to upset someone who could all demonic on me I hadn't dared to complain about dry bread or the fact that I could not stand the taste of peanut butter. The stuff was vile in my opinion, and the less said about her attempts to make pot roast the better.

Besides she was making an effort to get along with me even though she still must resent me for not going along with her plan. That or she had a new plan that involved feeding me. If that was the case then it wasn't working.

"Do you have **ANY** idea how long we've been waiting for you, X?" Gizmo demanded to know as soon I walked into the common room "I tried calling you lots of times, but you didn't answer".

I inspected my communicator and I discovered that its battery had run dry. I'd been fixing up the nursery all day, and so I had lost track of time. It didn't help that Jinx and Blackfire kept using the devices to try to tempt me to come back home to spend time with them.

"What's the matter?" I questioned of them.

Both Mammoth and my little buddy looked very upset for some reason.

"Jinx and Blackfire are missing, that's what's up you Spunk-Licking. Shit-Sniffing. Dick-Head!" Gizmo shouted at me.

Even for the tiny terror that had been very rude.

"And how long have they both been missing?" I asked while keeping my voice calm.

They had been here this morning. I knew that because we'd had breakfast together while discussing some work we had planned in the future. The Shadow Squad was in high demand these days, and not just by criminal groups we had legal work too.

"A couple days ago we got a call about a job out of town" Giz told me "At first we didn't think much of it, cause it was routine job. We just had to transport a package to an address in Freedom City. Blackfire can fly so so she took the box and said she'd back in a hour. That was this morning".

Given that it was now nine pm I was starting to see the problem.

"About lunch time Jinx got worried and tried to call you" I was then informed by the small crook "Then she took the bus. It takes about two hours to get to Freedom City from Jump City, and at three she sent us a text saying that she was heading to the address we were given, to go look for Fire".

Given that the text had been six hours ago I could now understand why Giz was so concerned.

"I'm starting to get worried" Gizmo confessed "Mammoth here was worried already, but I figured she was just running late, cause you know girls are always late".

It was true that the ladies could be made late by some distraction or other, but I had a feeling that something was wrong.

"What's the address the package was suppose to be delivered too" I inquired "And what was in it?".

Gizmo had some of the information I needed, but he didn't know what had been in the box. But I didn't think it mattered as I figured this had all been a trick meant to lure one or all of us somewhere.

"So what you gonna do?" wondered Mammoth.

I already had a plan.

"Well the first thing I'm going to do is check these guys out" I told Mammoth "They might know what happened to Fire and Jinxy"

In fact I suspected they would know exactly what had happened to the alien princess and the meta-human magic user. It wouldn't surprise me if my girls where tied up waiting for me at the address.

"Maybe we should all go" Mammoth suggested.

Taking a group of super powered crooks with me would be unwise. We'd draw to much attention, and right now Red-X needed to be all sneaky. I would recon the situation and if I needed backup then I would call.

"No I will go alone" I told the two guys "but stay by the phone in case I need you".

I was about to head to my room in order to grab my suit when a though crossed my mind.

"Oh, Gizmo" I said "I could do with something for road trips. Like a nice car. Something in black, but it should blend in".

My little buddy smiled. He already had blueprints forming in his mind. I could tell by the gleam in his eyes.

(Line Break)

 **Roof Tops - Freedom City**

Without making a sound I landed on the roof of the building that was across the street from the place Blackfire was suppose to have visited. The lack of lights in this area, combined with the clouds that covered the moon prevented me from being seen, which was good thing for me, but it was also a shame as the upgraded Red-X suit was a fearsome sight to behold.

However my appearance when wearing the suit was far less important than the gadgets it contained. A combination of night vision mode and telescopic lens allowed me see everything that was going on. This was super handy for a thief as I meant I could scope out the security of a location from a safe distance.

So far I had spotted two men on top of the building that was my destination, they were walking around the roof and they were only holding simple handguns. Their presence suggested that someone was expecting trouble, but judging by their relaxed stance the men up here weren't worried about anything.

I then looked downwards to see another guard at the door. I couldn't tell if he had a weapon, however I knew he couldn't be too heavily armed as he had no where to hide more than a handgun on his person. Unlike the men on the roof this gentlemen was in a nice suit, which suggested this lot were not a simple group of gang bangers.

Since I needed to get inside I deactivated my mask's vision functions and then I pressed the button on the buckle of my belt. A heartbeat later I reappeared on top of the building I wished to enter.

I then looked at the two guards and rolled my eyes, they were more causally dressed then the bloke down below and clearly they weren't taking their job seriously as they were having a fag break.

"Amateurs" I softly scoffed.

Seconds later I was walking over the two now unconscious guards and I was inside the building. I had a room number so it was just a matter of making my way down to the right floor without anyone raising the alarm. This was important as if Jinx and Blackfire were being held hostage and the bad guys knew I was coming after them then they might kill both or one of my girls.

On the way down I saw another guard while using my thermal vision. I made myself invisible before grabbing him and putting pressure around his neck. This little move was called the Sleeper Hold, and I used it effectively. I was able to dump the still breathing man inside an empty room, and then I got moving again.

After making way down to the next floor I leaned back into a wall and looked down the hall to see no one between myself and the stairs that led to the next floor. I silently walked down the hall only to stop as a door opened. I was invisible still so waited until he walked past me and then I used them same move on him as I had on the other armed thug.

"This is going to take all night" I muttered to myself.

Once I had dealt with that bloke I looked around with my different kinds of vision and then I sighed as I could now see five guards heading my way. They were in no rush, and they were talking to each other which meant that they weren't looking for me they up to something else.

Then I smiled as I realised that this was the perfect chance for me to try out a spell I had been working on.

" _Fhtagn uaah"_ (Sleep, Spell)

The five men didn't just fall asleep they resisted the magic, but not for long as one by one they dropped to the ground. They were fine, I checked, in fact a couple of them were snoring.

"Well that saves time" I said in a whisper.

Finally I arrived at the room the package was suppose to have been delivered to, but when I popped my head into the door I found that someone had already beaten me here.

"Huntress!" I said in surprise.

It was her. She had the knee high boots, the mask, the cape, she even had a crossbow pointed at me.

"Why are you here?" the dark haired babe demanded to know.

Smartly I didn't move a muscle as while my suit was bullet proof I didn't know if it was also protect me from crossbow, in theory it should but might not be a normal arrow she had pointed at me.

"I'm looking for Blackfire and Jinx" I informed the Huntress "They both came here, and now they're missing".

To my surprise the vigilantly crime fighter lowered her weapon.

"That fits the pattern" she said "A number of girls with special abilities have gone missing in the last few weeks. At first I thought it might be CADMUS, but grabbing kids isn't their style, and they wouldn't limited themselves to one gender. This is something else".

At this point in the time line, the government group led by Amanda Waller were looking for way to put the United States on a equal footing with the Justice League. Kidnapping young people with super powers and then turning them into agents was one way to do that, but the Huntress was right they wouldn't just go after girls.

"This scumbag knows something" the Huntress told me while pointing at a middle aged man she had beaten up "But he's not talking, yet".

Given how bad he looked the scum had to be more scared of his bosses than of the Huntress. So I figured there was nothing I could to him to make him talk. At least nothing physical.

"I've heard your not such a bad guy, X" the crime fighter was now saying "And if your friends are missing then we should work together".

At first that seemed like an odd thing for her to suggest, but then I figured since she had been kicked out of the League then she might not see me in the same way they did. Plus if she really did know about me then she might also be thinking that I would come in handy.

"I'll get the information we need" I promised the hot babe.

She didn't ask me to explain how, and I didn't offering anything. Instead I just got on with the task at hand.

" _Wgah'n- lloig uaaad"_ (control, mind, spell)

The spell worked and the crook seemed to enter a trance of sort.

"Where are my friends?" I demanded to know.

Nothing happened so I figured that maybe I needed to rephrase my question as the man under my control might not understand which friends I had just asked him about.

"My friends Jinx, and Blackfire" I inquired "Tell me where they are"

This time he answered right away. He gave us both a place and a time. Then after I made some more inquiries he told me exactly why my girls had been taken.

I was not pleased by what I heard so when the Huntress kicked the guy in the head I approved of the brutality.

(Line Break)

 **Warehouse District – Freedom City**

The Huntress had her own bike, but she had decided to ride with me. I figured that she either wanted to keep an eye on me or she had decided that since one bike would make less noise than two. Whatever the reason she seemed oddly cheerful now, and she had even put her arms around my waist as I drove.

"Don't get the wrong idea" the crime fighter said to me as I parked my sweet hog behind a warehouse "I'm seeing someone".

If memory served she was dating the Question, but I didn't remark on the subject as it was no business of mine. Instead I pointed up and then I teleported on the roof of warehouse fifty-one. The Huntress quickly caught up and we made our way over to the skylight.

I unlocked our means of entry and then slowly opened it. When I did a wave of noise hit my eardrums and I heard what was going on below. The crowd was talking to each other, but the guy on the stage had a microphone so his voice was by far the clearest.

His speech confirmed what the crook back at the hotel had already told us. Young women with special abilities and exotic natures were being sold as sex slaves to men with more money than morals. This included the girls of Shadow Squad.

"Follow me" I said to the Huntress

Like ninjas we both dropped down onto catwalk. I had no idea why all these abandoned factories and warehouses had catwalks as the only purpose they seemed to serve was to give people like me a place to strike from the shadows, but I was thankful for them.

I didn't attack right away as I first needed to get a better lay of the land, so to speak, before I took action. I could see a few large men who had to be guards as they were standing stock still while everyone else was a lot more animated.

The girls, and not just my girls, were locked in a cage. They were all shackled, and many were blindfolded. I then saw Blackfire and anger swelled in my chest. She wasn't just blindfolded and chained up she was strapped to a metal frame.

On a intellectual level I understood why. The alien princess was a power house when compared to normal human beings, which made me wonder why anyone would buy her because it would like keeping a savage and hungry lioness as a pet

The part of me that cared for Fire, despite all she'd done, wanted to kill every sick son of a bitch who had dared to touch her. However I was able to calm myself down, as I knew that just rushing into a fight could get her or Jinxy killed.

"If you can cause a big enough distraction then I can free the girls" the Huntress said to me "Throw some smoke bombs around and take out the guards. The crowd will panic and that will be my signal".

Since I was a thief it was in my nature not to draw attention to myself, so just jumping onto the stage wasn't an option. Thankfully for me it was nearly as dark down there as it was up here so a few smoke bombs would be enough to shield me from fight.

"See you soon" I said to the Huntress as I threw the bombs.

As the small explosive devices went off I leapt into action, literally. The crowd begin to panic as the guards started pointing their weapons around while looking for something to shoot.

The thugs were near the walls so I made way around the crowd, that was surging as a mob towards the exit, and took down the crooks while their attention was on the stage. They made it easier for me because the moron's were wearing sunglasses at night while indoors.

By the time the smoke was gone the buyers had all legged it and the the Huntress had freed the girls. I ran over to Jinx and undid her restraints, then to my surprise she hugged me. She'd never done that in public before as it detracted from her bad girl image.

"Hold on" I said to the pink haired girl.

My next act was to free Blackfire. That was when I made a mistake I hadn't thought she would start blasting everything as soon as her blindfold came off.

"Stop its me" I ordered.

She did, but only so she could demand to be set free. Which was something I was happy to do.

"What dead man did this?" Blackfire then asked me.

The guy with the microphone must have been stampeded during the rush for the exit as he was only now able to stand up. That was the last act of his life as Blackfire blasted with so much power he was reduced to a small pile of ash.

"You know je could have told us who was behind this" I said to the alien princess.

I wasn't exactly horrified, as the now dead person had tried to sell my girlfriends into slavery, but I would have much preferred to interrogate him in a painful way.

"There were others back at the hotel" the Tamarain said "I'll find out everything from them".

Before I could even try to stop her Blackfire had made a whole in the roof as she flew away. Then I heard shouting so I knew it was time to get out of here.

"Where's the Huntress?" I asked as I carried Jinx up to the skylight.

There was no answer from my girlfriend, and I had no clue so I let it go and headed back to where I had parked my bike. I knew that Jinx and I had to get out of this city.

We could only hoped that Blackfire didn't get herself killed, but I thought it far more likely that she would murder others this night.

Which meant we really had to get out of town, as the League might be called in and unlike them I had no real desire to stop the alien princess from getting her revenge.


	16. Pink-X Part 1

**DC – Gothic – Red-X**

 **Pink-X 1**

 **Squad Shadow HQ – Jump City.**

"What am I looking at?" I asked of Terra as she emptied a small box of junk onto the table before me.

All I could see were broken bits of pink metal, and some cloth. It didn't make much sense to me, and that feeling was shared by all the crooks who were sitting around the table with me.

Not that we minded the distraction as we'd reached a dead end in our investigation into who had been kidnapping exotic women in order to sell them as sex slaves. As to why we didn't have any leads, well that was because Blackfire had killed many of the people involved, and the rest had run for the hills.

Despite that I wasn't too worried as I imagined that the Huntress was still on the case and she could call upon the Question if she needed help, and at some point the Justice League would take part in an operation to shut the whole thing down.

"I went to visit BB again last night" Terra told us.

The geomancer hadn't yet moved back into Titan Tower so she slept here, but most days and evenings she was with Beast Boy. In my view they made a cute couple and Terra was a nice girlfriend who never complained about her boyfriend playing video games. Unlike Jinx who though the Gamestation was a waste of time.

"And there was a crime alert so I went out with the Titans" she added.

That was encouraging, as I wanted her to get close to the Titans, and maybe even get to live her life as a hero if she so desired, as this would annoy Raven, but it still didn't explain anything about what was in the box, or why it had been dumped on the table.

Thankfully Gizmo was already on the case, he was taking tools out of his belt and he was looking over the stuff on the table. His studying took a while yet no one spoke until he was finished.

"Well this metal is just stainless steel that's been painted" he informed me.

I was able to confirm this simply by holding the piece of metal. It was too light to be the metal I used and the feel of it was different as well.

"But the cloth, that's a little more complicated" my buddy then said.

Despite his words I was still clueless as to what was going on, but Gizmo seemed to have some idea as he was deep in thought.

"It looks normal enough to me" Blackfire said to me as she handled the material "It feels like your cloak"

As a matter of fact it did both look and feel just like the cloth my cloak was made from. Which was strange as it wasn't something you could buy over the counter, it had been specially manufactured.

"Your right its exactly the same stuff as what X uses" Gizmo told us all.

I'd already figured that, but I still didn't know what this all meant.

"The Titans took on a thief who was dressed like you" T told me "Only she was a girl and the X on her suit was pink".

Having been in a DC verse for a while now it took a lot to surprise me, this really surprised me and it also worried me.

"This is bad" I said "She's a fan girl!".

No one found my remarked amusing. Which was good because I had not it meant to be, but they didn't seemed concerned either. Which they should be as fan girl's could be very dangerous. I'd seen the film Misery I had no desire to have my legs broken by some crazy woman.

"So this chick is just someone with a crush on you" Jinx realised "I'm so not threatened by her".

Despite her words she did slide onto lap. Which would normally be very pleasant for me, but this was not the time for such things.

"She told us she was your daughter" Terra informed me.

Since I wasn't wearing my mask everyone saw my jaw drop. Had this been a cartoon it would have hit the floor.

"And BB thinks that she wasn't lying" Terra then said "His theory, if you can call it that, is that Pink-X is the kid you're having with Raven, whose come back in time and is now trying to get your attention".

Given that this was a DC universe that wasn't as unlikely as it sounded. Time Travel was not only possible it was practically mundane, it was however also very risky as someone using it could create alternate time lines or even bring about the end of the universe.

"But everyone else isn't so sure" Terra went on to say "because if she is your kid with Raven then she wouldn't have attacked the Titans and risked hurting her unborn self".

If Beast Boy was correct then clearly Pink-X had some issues with both her mother and father, none of which were healthy. It was also worrying that this Pink-X could kill herself by harming Raven. Aside from the fact that it hinted at how messed up she was, this Pink-X could cause a paradox of some kind by preventing her own birth.

"Well maybe she's my daughter" Jinx proposed "Maybe she got my pink hair and its favourite colour".

That also wasn't as unlikely as it sounded. After all Jinx and I got on well, so there were no reason we couldn't have kids at some point in the future. Meta-human powers weren't always inherited, so Pink-X could just be taking after me because she had inherited some of my skills rather than her mother's luck manipulation ability.

"Robin has this theory: Pink-X might not have meant she's your biological daughter" Terra then said "He thinks she might be someone you either created or inspired".

Which meant she could still be a fan girl. I wasn't sure if I found that more worrying than me having a time travelling child. Although the latter would be way cooler than the former even if it was more troublesome.

"Anyway he's decided that she's your problem either way" Terra was now informing me "If she is your kid then I think he's right in saying that you have to deal with her and make her go back to her own time, and if she's just some crazy girl whose a big fan, then he thinks Pink-X might listen if you tell her to stop stealing things".

While I was annoyed at the Boy-Wonder, as catching crooks was his job not mine, it also made sense. This could be a child of mine who had come back in time for reasons she felt was important, and if that was the case I had to help her deal with her issues and make her go home. The same applied to a fan girl it would just be that to go home she wouldn't need a time machine, she'd just need money for a taxi.

"This is a copy of everything the Titans have put together" Terra said to us all while taking out a CD "There's some footage and he wrote up reports and what was stolen and where".

Gizmo took the recorded data and plugged into a laptop. One that wasn't connected to our other computers. At once he started typing away like the nerd he was.

"Hey Daddy-X take a look at the things she stolen. I'm seeing a pattern" Gizmo said "Baby-X has been randomly hitting Tech-Companies so no one would notice a pattern, but she's been after Xenothium, which means her suit is a copy of yours".

It could even be my suit that she had modified sometime in the future, but if it wasn't then this meant that someone out there had been able to recreate the outfit. The list of people who could such a thing was small. I couldn't even do it. Gizmo could have but he had no reason to and I couldn't imagine why Robin would make a version of the suit for a girl.

"Only someone with X's skill could have hit that many places so soon" Jinx stated with what sounded like pride in her voice.

That was pretty much the case. Heck even I would have been pushing my luck with so many jobs at once.

"Not really because she cheated" corrected Terra "Pink-X can walk through walls and be invisible while doing it. So she just walked in and took what she wanted. The only reason we found her was because Cyborg has motion detectors".

Perhaps this daughter of mine, if that was who she was, had been able to improve the Red-X suit in the future. That or my could be daughter had a meta-human power like allowed her pass through solid objects, like Kitty from the X-Men. However if that was the case then it made no sense that her throwing Xs were made of painted steel.

"Hey Crud-For-Brains I have a lead on Pinky you might like to exploit." Gizmo said "I figure that she needs a lot more xenoithum than you do for the phasing through walls, if I'm right then there's only place left in the city, aside from here, where she could get enough to make it worth while".

I could well imagine that such a trick drained the batteries, and being invisible so much would only make it worse.

"S.T.A.R labs just got enough of the stuff to power your suit for months" Gizmo told me.

That had to be fate.

"I have an appointment there this afternoon so I can scope the place out and plant a bug that will let you into their system" I said to my little buddy "Then when she hits the place we can make sure the police don't hear the alarm, and we will be there to catch her".

The tricky part would be containing someone who could walk through walls, but if this Pink-X wanted my attention then we wouldn't have to capture, she'd stick around.

"Why are you going to S.T.A.R labs?" Jinx asked "We don't have a job involving that place, do we?".

I needed to carefully answered this question, but before I could say anything the blonde in the room spoke for me.

"Raven's going for a check up" Terra said "The baby's like half human – half whatever she is, so a normal doctor won't be much help, but S.T.A.R labs has people who specialise in alien biology, so they're better equipped to handle this kind of thing".

Which was actually the case.

"Right" Jinxy said after a moment "X, can I talk to alone. In your room".

For a second there I had thought I was safe as it turned out she had just decided to rip me a new one behind closed doors.

(Line Break)

 **S.T.A.R Labs – Jump City.**

Until now I'd never considered who aliens and meta-humans go to see when they need a check up, or even just dentist appointment. After all they couldn't just go to a regular doctor because most medical professional only knew how to treat humans. However there were people who specialised in alternate physiology. Most of them work for one of the S.T.A.R labs that were scattered across this country and other places.

Given that Raven was half-demon/half something else she had an odd biology, at least when compared to most people on this planet. Although Blackfire had a load of stomachs and could shoot energy beams from her eyes, which was very strange so I wasn't going to judge Ray for having a few oddities in her nature.

"Why didn't you want to go Metropolis?" Raven inquired "Dr. Emil Hamilton is suppose to be an expert on how alien and human biology can interact, he's more qualified than anyone to tell us how our baby is doing".

I had good reasons for not going anywhere near that guy.

"Because Hamilton is working for CADMUS" I told the mother of my unborn child "He's the one who cloned Supergirl, and I do not want him within a thousand miles of you all the baby".

Raven gave me a perplexed look and then went back to reading her magazine. Apparently Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar had just gotten married, sometime last year.

"People from Azarath are descended from humans, Raven then told me "So we only need to worry about the demon part".

Ray was from another dimension, like I was so in my view it wasn't just the demonic DNA we should be concerned about, but I wasn't going to worry unless there was actually a problem.

"Like I said I'm going to name the baby after my mother if she's a girl like the psychics I went to see say she will be" Raven told me "But if we do have a boy, and that can still happen, then you have to think of a name".

The naming thing didn't worry me, her going to see mind readers did. She'd mentioned if before but we'd not talked about it much.

"Why did you go see a psychic?" I wondered

Raven didn't answer right away she finished reading an article first.

"I wanted to make sure that the baby is going to be okay" she told me "To find out if she or maybe he will be a monster or not. Everything is okay mystically speaking, and she will have magical powers, and she has some kind of special destiny as well. I know that those kind of things don't always work out well so I needed more information".

That sounded reasonable and now I was getting the sense that she was trying to avoid talking about something by talking about other things, but given what she was going though these days I understood that she was trying to distract herself.

"Why do you have a pair of girl's underwear in your pocket?" Ray then inquired of me.

The answer had to do with Jinx being all jelly. I'd expected her to be mad about me spending time with Raven, but as it turned out she'd just wanted to mark her territory as it were. As soon as I'd gotten into my room she'd started to hump me.

"Oh those are Jinx's" I explained "There her way of reminding me who my girlfriend is I guess. She's so jelly of you".

Raven lowered the magazine and gave me a look of confusion.

"She's what?" the Titan asked.

"Jelly as in jealous" I clarified "She's worried that you will try to steal me away from her".

Raven smiled in a way that made a shiver run down my spine.

"Well she should be" the purple haired girl said "Once you see me holding your baby you'll so want us to be a family".

For a moment I dismissed that idea as nothing more than a fantasy she had, but when I thought about it I realised that it might actually happen. It was a strong human desire to protect one's mate and offspring, and seeing Raven and Arella together could trigger that inclination.

"Well we'll cross that burning bridge when we get to it" I told the hero.

This conversation was heading into uncomfortable territory so I decided that it was time to change the subject.

"So what about Pink-X" I said "Do you think our little girl grows up and takes after her beloved Daddy".

Raven was amused by my words, and for some reason she didn't seem to care much, but I was as I did not like the idea of my kid abusing time travel for some selfish goal.

"Well she said 'I am the daughter of Red-X' and not 'I am your daughter with Red-X' so she might not be our baby girl" Raven told me "But if she is I don't get why she didn't called me Mom, and if she is Arella then why did she attack me and risk her own life? That goes way beyond having issues with your parents".

She was right it didn't make sense. Unless Pink-X wasn't the kid growing inside Ray right now. She could be my kid with Jinx, or even with someone else. That would explain why Pink-X hadn't used magic like any child of Raven's naturally would.

If she was indeed my child then she was taking after me, and she had access to tech even I didn't. Which did support the idea that she was from the future. But I had the feeling that something else was going on here. Things did add up.

If Pink-X was my kid, and she was stealing stuff in order to get my attention, then she was going about it all wrong. Being a criminal had only succeeded in getting her into trouble with the Titans. There were easier ways to contact me. Like knocking on the front door of our headquarters and said 'Hey Dad I'm your daughter'.

"I'm sure you will track her down and then we will get some answers" Raven said with a complete lack of concern.

Her attitude surprised me, but after thinking about it I figured that Ray just thought that Pink-X was just a fan girl.

"I'll find her" I promised.

Before anything more could be said a woman in a lab coat told us she was ready, so we headed into her office.


	17. Pink-X Part 2

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Pink-X 2**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"Hey boss someone wants to talk to you" Mammoth told me as I entered our communications room "There on the big screen".

I found this interesting because few people ever contacted the team so directly, this was because so few knew how to call us. Most of the time people wanting to hire us did so indirectly, like through a contact who knew a member of the Shadow Squad.

Since I wanted to find out more about this unknown person, I slipped on my skull mask and took the call off hold so that I could both see and hear the caller.

Upon seeing the guy I took an instant disliking towards him. He had blond hair and he wore a strange looking piece of tech over his right eye. I almost had his name, but I couldn't quite recall who he was or why I wanted to beat him up.

"Who are you?" I asked.

In the back of my head there was a memory of this guy looking somewhat different, but with the same odd eyepiece. It was a dangerous device I recalled that much at least.

"I am Count Vertigo" the man told me "I wish to speak to you, Red-X"

Now I had the name I could look him up on the computer, but that would have to wait until after the call ended as I needed to focus on what the count was saying.

"What do you want with me?" I inquired.

My assumption was that he would hire me for a job.

"I represent a certain individual, you may have heard of him" said the count "Ra's Al Ghul".

Until now I had been the under the impression that Ra's was dead, but given the kind of universe I was in then I wouldn't be surprised if even Slade came back as a kind of zombie one of these days.

"Yes I've heard of the Demon's Head" I said warily "What does Ra's Al Ghul want with me?"

Given that his daughter had murdered me less than a year ago, I was naturally worried at this point.

"He is very interested in you" the villain told me "And he wishes to met".

To me this seemed like an odd way of setting up a trap. If the Demon's Head knew where I was and he wanted me dead, then he could just send an army of ninjas after me.

"What's in it for me?" I then asked.

Since I was a crook for hire I didn't do things for nothing, and it would seem odd if I didn't inquire about payment.

"I assure you that Ra's al Ghul simply wishes to speak with you" I was assured "He will of course compensate you for your time".

Now I was thinking that this was not a trap. Somehow I just knew it. Which meant it might be opportunity for me to get some payback, or this could even be a chance to make peace with the Assassins so they would leave me and my team alone.

They had no reason the hunt me now that I was no longer working for Slade, and if I made it worth his while the Demon's Head might agree to some sort of peace treaty.

If he didn't then he might be the one in trouble, as I was the real immortal, and my team had a lot of firepower. If the League of Shadows started a war with the Shadow Squad then things would get messy. Not that I wanted to start a fight as Ra's had centuries of experience, and an army to call upon. Even if Slade had greatly weakened the League of Shadows they could still destroy my team.

"Where do I find him?" was my next question.

It was a big world out there, and if I'd ever had a clue how to find Talia she would most likely be dead by now.

"Do not worry I'll give him your answer" the Count was now saying "But be warned while The League of Shadows wishes to help you, in turn you must help them".

Judging by his words I figured that this man did not consider himself to be full part of the assassin organization.

"So this is a job?" I questioned.

I was a little confused now as now because if Ra's simply wanted a word then he could have called me.

"More of an information exchange" the count told me "And I do have an incentive for you".

That had my interest.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

I hoped it was money. I liked money.

"Xenothium," Count Vertigo told me "The League knows that it powers your suit and the Demon's Head as supply of the material waiting for you".

It wasn't surprising that Ra's knew about the exotic fuel source for my suit as many people did.

"As to the matter at hand" the count said "Ra's al Ghul wishes to meet you in Tibet at an ancient temple in the mountains. At the bottom of these mountains, there is a rare blue flower. Pick one of these flowers, when you arrive, then take it to the Demon's Head so he will know who you are".

That was when I realised that this was also some kind of test.

"I understand" I said before closing the channel.

He hadn't told me where the mountain was, but I guessed finding the temple was part of the test.

Next I used our internal communications to summon everyone to a meeting. We still had Pink-X to find, and they all needed to know what had just happened.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"I thought we were going to deal with Pink-X" Jinx said "We can't get distracted by those assassin guys".

Sadly it wasn't that simple.

"If I piss off the Demon's Head by not meeting with him then he could have us all killed" I pointed out "The League of Shadows is full of assassins after all".

This I knew first hand as I'd battled them in the past, and while I knew I could take down even two or three assassins I had no chance if dozens of the fuckers came after me. Plus there could be hundreds of the well trained killers waiting to take me on, even with my team I might not win a war against the Demon's Head.

"There's no need to worry I heard Slade killed most of them" Jinx then said "I beat he just wants to hire us for a job because he hasn't got any minions to do his dirty work for him".

Her saying that got me thinking.

"The count mentioned an information exchange but maybe they want to recruit me" I reasoned "But why now?".

Gizmo coughed before speaking.

"It might be because I uploaded the video to the net" he confessed.

He was talking about the video that showed me easily defeating a number of super villains, and also me taking on Robin during that whole Whacky Races thing. That could have made an impression.

"They're after Ravager too. They want to recruit her" Blackfire told me "Well that's what she told me last night".

I had to spend a moment processing that.

"Ravager went with you on Girl's night, again?" I asked.

That made no sense, but the women I knew rarely did.

"Yeah it was me, Jinx, Starfire and Ravager" the alien princess told me

Now I was getting really confused.

"Do you not know that she wants to kill your sister?" I wondered.

While Blackfire was driven to humiliate her sibling in order to get payback for reasons she found valid, she didn't actually want Starfire dead. At least not anymore, so it was odd that the two sisters were hanging out with some who did want to kill Star.

"We have a truce on Girl's Night" Jinx informed me

I decided that I would never understand women, and so I moved on.

"Well then I guess I'll need to talk to Rose sometime soon" I decided.

If the League of Shadows was making her life difficult, then I might have an ally should it come to a fight.

"But first we need to deal with Pinky" I reminded everyone "and we're doing it tonight".

This was wise as I didn't want to have to deal with too many issues at the same time.

(Line Break)

 **S.T.A.R Labs – Jump City**

I stood patiently inside the vault, and for once I wasn't trying to steal any of the lovely, lovely xenothuilm. I was actually guarding it. For me this was perverted, because I was a crook. So trying to stop another criminal from committing a crime just felt so very wrong.

As to why I was here I needed find out if Pink-X was my kid from the future, or just some crazy fan girl. I didn't know which would be worse, but either way I had to deal with her because if nothing else she was copying me, and there could be only one X in Jump City.

So my team and I were waiting for Pinky to break into the place so we could ambush her. It might not work given that the other X could walk through walls, but if this crook was my daughter then she should stick around for a family reunion of sorts.

If nothing else I hoped my team could keep Pinky busy long enough for me to take her belt off her, which would render her suit useless. Then when she was lacking her high tech toys I could find out who she was.

"Check in" I ordered everyone.

All my team, Jinx, Blackfire, Gizmo, Mammoth and Kyd Wyykd were here. The Shadow Squad had some new potential members now, such as See-More, Billy Numerous and Angel, but none of them were ready to commit just yet as they had been baldy used by Brother Blood. Still I figured that they'd soon come around

Which was a good thing as if the League of Shadows was going to cause us trouble then I was going to need some extra firepower.

"Hold on where's Blackfire?" I asked when the role call came to an end "Can anyone get in contact with her".

She hadn't checked in. She was suppose to be keeping an eye on S.T.A.R. Labs from up high, but it seemed that she had abandoned her post.

"Where could she have gone?" I asked myself.

(Line Break)

 **Nightclub – Jump City**

The music was loud in the club. Many people were dancing and drinking. Blackfire was in the middle of it and she was loving every moment.

"This music is way better then the crap they play on Andres Prime" Blackfire said to some of the other dancers "But its not as good as the stuff I danced to on Mistoff Six!".

Of course none of the other people in the club had any clue what Blackfire was talking about, but since his was Jump City they didn't really care either, so the alien princess just kept on dancing.

"Whoa, check out that babe" a young man wearing a black leather jacket said to his two friends. "Lets see if we can get lucky tonight".

The three guys approached Blackfire who was still in getting funky with the music. She might as well have been on another planet for all the attention she was giving her surroundings

"Hey babe, want to go to a place that's REALLY great?" The man wearing the black leather jacket inquired.

Blackfire looked up and noticed the trio of guys.

"Really?" she asked the man wearing the leather jacket."You know of a place even better then here?"

The alien princess knew exactly what the lads wanted from her, and she intended to make sure that they didn't get it.

"Yup" the leader replied "Compared to this place, we're were going will blow your mind".

Blackfire smiled in order to hide the expression her face wanted to make. Which would have been a lot more scary.

"Yeah!" one of the other guys agreed.

Of course the criminal from another world knew that there was no other place, but she planned to play along.

"Just follow us" the man wearing the leather jacket instructed.

Blackfire gave the young men her most innocent looking smile.

"Fine boys. Show me the way" she replied.

(Line Break)

Once they were in the ally the man wearing the leather jacket closed the door to the club. The sound of the music could still be heard, although it was somewhat muted now.

"So, where is this great place you are talking about?" Blackfire asked while looking at the boys "Come on show me what you do for fun".

She looked relaxed, but she was in fact more than ready for a fight.

"Its right here babe." The man wearing the leather jacket said with a smirk "And you're the fun"

The leader of the thugs then took out a knife. It was for intimation only, but Blackfire wasn't at all worried.

"Sorry boys, but I'm already called for" the princess informed.

Her boyfriend was a lot more scary than these losers.

"Playing hard to get huh?" the guy with the knife then said "Well I guess I'll just have to get rough".

The other two men laughed.

"We're going to have a little fun tonight" one of the other two guys told Blackfire between laughs "Whether you like it or not!"

The guy in the leather jacket rushed at Blackfire, but the alien easily avoided the attack and slammed the leader of the thugs into a wall.

"You'll pay for that!" one of the leader's lackey's promised.

Her response was to blast one of boys with a none-lethal beam of energy from her eyes. Then she used a karate kick to send the other guy into a nearby trash can. Finally she used another none-lethal energy blast on the guy wearing a leather jacket. She would have killed him, but she thought the coat was cool, she intended to steal it before doing any real harm.

"You bitch...you'll..." one of the young men swore.

Insulting the alien princess only made her madder.

"You fellas never learn do you?" Blackfire said as her eyes began to glow.

"Guess I'll have to teach you boys a lesson."

The boys shivered in fear as the alien moved nearer to them, seconds later the screaming started.

(Line Break)

 **Roof Tops – Jump City**

Pink-X and I both appeared on top of a building on the outskirts of Jump-City, and I expected Pinky to teleport again but it appeared that she had finally run out of juice.

"Need this?" I said while holding up a tube full of the xenoithum that the thief had tried to take from S.T.A.R labs.

It felt so weird to be doing this as normally I was the one trying to get away with the stolen goods.

"Take off the mask" I then ordered.

To enforce this command I took out my gun and pointed it at her. Pink-X slowly took of her mask.

"Oh damn its a fan girl" I growled.

I knew her face. She was Kitten, the daughter of Killer Moth, who I had met briefly during that whole Whacky Races thing.

"What?" asked Kitten.

Under my mask I rolled my eyes.

"Forget about that" I told her "And tell me why you are dressing up and stealing high tech stuff. That's my gig!".

She'd better have a good explanation or I was going to hand her over to the cops or maybe the Titans.

"I wanted to get my Dad's attention" Kitten explained "So I made a whole bunch of costumes. I had this dea that I'd do a bunch of crimes while disguised as the daughter of enemies of the Titans, until he finally came out of the basement".

So she was someone with Daddy issues after I just wasn't the father. Also her scheme was stupid.

"Then I met you and I thought you were cool, and I had _sooo_ much fun as Pink-X" Kitten admitted.

It seemed as if I had made an impression during our short meeting, and given how much of a thrill being Red-X gave me I kind of understood where she was coming from.

"So I guess you want me to stop" Kitten said with a frown

Well I didn't want her to be Pink-X, but that didn't mean she couldn't be a crook like me.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I did" I told her "But if you want to be a thief then you should make your own identity. Pop by my place sometime, we're always looking for more members".

Mostly I wanted to know how she'd gotten an X-suit and a device that allowed her to walk through walls, and while there were other ways to get that information I figured that it would be a lot easier if she told me simply because she wanted to impress me. However I also had the feeling that more was going on here than it might seem. I didn't think that Kitten could have pulled off all those crimes. But again I figured it would be better if she told me on her own terms.

"Thanks X" she said "You're not like other villains".

That was true.

"I'm something of an oddity" I told the blonde.

In order to prove this I took out a test tube of the awesome red stuff and I passed it to her.

"This will get you home" I said.

Seconds later I used my own teleporter and I made my way back to my group's base.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad Headquarters – Jump City**

"So Pink-X was Kitten the whole time" Terra said after I had filled her in "I'd never have guessed".

Me neither.

"She told me it was all about getting her father's attention" I then informed the Titan "But that doesn't explain where she got the tech from".

There was more going on her than some girl with Daddy issues. Kitten had someone helping her out. I figured that it was Ravager because not only did Rose have the money and the resources to create a Pink-X suit she also knew a lot of the methods super villains used to commit their crimes.

This theory made sense as I knew that Kitten had worked for Ravager in the past. Not that long ago they'd test a special kind of lipstick on me that had really messed with my head.

What I didn't know was why young Miss Wilson had started this project. For someone who wanted revenge her actions didn't make much sense, she was going after the Titan, and her other actions seemed rather random. Either she was crazy or she had a very complex master plan.

"We figured she got from you" Terra said "I mean Robin thinks that your recruiting so you can over the city".

That made some sense, or at it least it would have if the Boy Wonder hadn't handed over this case to me. Perhaps he had been testing me in some way.

"Ravager is up to something" I said with certainty "and it has to be connected with what Pink-X was stealing".

My thinking now was that I would have to make a trip to the old steel mill and confront Rose. She and I were neither friends or enemies so she might listen to me and let me talk her out whatever madness she had planned.

"Didn't Gizmo say it was just random junk" Terra reminded "He's pretty good with tech so he should know what the stuff might be used for".

My thinking earlier had been that the robberies had been more about getting Pink-X noticed, or maybe they'd meant to be a distraction. Now I wasn't so sure what was going on.

"Well at least you know who Pink is now" I said to the geomancer "You can go give a report to Bird Boy".

As for me I was going to see Ravager, as now that the League of Shadows was getting involved things were becoming more dangerous. I could no longer allow her to play her silly games.

"I'll see you later" I told the Titan as I picked up my masks and my gloves "I have to see a woman about some assassins".

Now was the time to visit the Steel Mill, so that I could get some answers for my growing pile of questions.


	18. Sleepover 1

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Sleepover**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

I often wondered why the hidden base of a group of super villains had a door bell, but that wasn't what I thought about for very long as when I opened the door to I found that was Cyborg and Raven at the door.

"Tag your it" the male Teen Titan said before attempting to push Ray through the doorway "No man you gotta take her, she's driving us crazy".

The demon proofing I'd put up some time ago, prevented anyone fully or even partly demonic from entering our underground base. For Raven it was as if there was a force field in the way.

"I told you about the demon proofing" the female Titan said to Cyborg.

The machine man looked very upset.

"Listen X" he then said "I know that Robin and you don't get along very well, but we've never had a problem, so please do me this favour".

I decided to at least hear him out.

"Please take in Ray for a few days before someone at the Tower kills her" Cyborg requested "We can't take the mood swings anymore, and they are kinda your fault".

I considered things for a moment, before I went over to a wall and defaced part of the warding scheme so that base was no longer safe from demonic people.

The bedrooms all had a separate layers of warding, and since everyone in the Shadow Squad had decided to go into hibernation or go away somewhere for Christmas. I figured those still here would be safe enough should Raven desire to suck someone's soul.

"You can come in now" I said.

Only Ray actually entered the building, Cyborg was already gone. I heard his famous T-car speed away.

"What was all the about?" I inquired.

It was then that I noticed that Ray had grown a bump. I hadn't seen her for a least a month, so I was surprised by what was for me a sudden change.

"Hormones" my sort of ex-girlfriend explained as I led her downstairs "I'm empathic so my mood swings are effecting people. Everyone's either eating everything in sight, being all depressed, or getting super horny. Cy doesn't have a girlfriend so its driving him mad".

Terra had told me that she was with Beast Boy in romantic sense, and she had been for a while really, but I hadn't know that Robin had hooked up with anyone.

"So are Robbie and Star got together?" I asked Ray.

She sat herself down on the sofa before answering me.

"Yeah" she told me "I think my horniness broke down some walls. They went to bed together, and Robin's not the kind of guy who can sleep with a girl without making a commitment after".

Raven then glared at me, and I knew that it was time to either change the subject or at very least divert it.

"And they kicked you out just for that?" I asked.

That seemed a little excessive to me.

"Not really" she said "I think they just need to know that they're having sex because they love each other not because I want it. So it was decided that since your partly to blame, you should take care of me for a while".

I came to the conclusion that it was not easy being Raven, and also that it wasn't much fun being her friend, at least some of the time.

"And while your selfish you're not a monster" Ray then said "You won't kick me out into the snow. Not while I'm carrying your baby".

She was right about that, and about the weather. Jump City had seen a lot of snow recently, and that was odd given that we were in Southern California. I'd done some research and I had discovered that only three times in the last hundred years had the city been buried in snow. Which had me wonder if something supernatural was going on.

"Well we have room for you" I told Ray "There's only a few of us here, and they all have demon-proofing in their rooms so they should be safe from any empathic problems your currently having".

I was more worried about me.

"What about Jimx and Blackfire" Raven then inquired "Are they here".

For once they were not.

"Jinx is visiting her mother in India" I explained "Or maybe its the ghost of her mother. I'm a bit unclear on that".

My girlfriend was suppose to be an orphan so I didn't understand how she was able to go see her mother, but Jinx had told me she was going to see her and that she needed to go alone. Normally I'd just think that there had been some mistake and Jinx had only thought her mother was dead before finding out the truth, but given the kind of world this was I wouldn't be that surprised if ghosts were somehow involved.

"And Blackfire is just gone" I then informed my house guest "I haven't seen her since I went after Pink-X".

I'd known that she'd kept a ship hidden away somewhere so I suspected that the alien princess had left the planet. Which was something she had done before, and there was no way to predict if she'd be back or not, and even if she'd did return it might not be to see me.

"To be honest I think the Shadow Squad might not last much longer" I admitted "People might be moving on soon".

Raven patted the bit of the sofa next to her and like a loyal puppy I sat down. I didn't even think about it.

"Why do you think that?" the pregnant Titan asked me.

There were a few different reasons.

"Its just that I get the feeling that something big was suppose to happen soon or should have happened already" I said "Only its not happening, and I don't think it will ever happen".

Even that thing with Ra's al Ghul had turned out to be nothing special. He just told me that I was immortal and then had asked about Ravager, and she had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Then there had been the weird part about the Demon's Head wanting me to marry his daughter so he could have an immortal heir. I'd been able to back out of that by simply pointing out that I was too inexperienced for such responsibility.

I'd expected Ra's to make some sort of threat, but he'd backed off and I didn't think he had the resources to make me do anything. His organization wasn't what it had used to be that was for sure.

"Its like the course of history got changed, and now no one knows what they are suppose to do" I went on to say "Even CADMUS isn't doing much, and I know the League hasn't been very busy".

Simply watching the news had told me that much.

"And somehow I just know its partly my fault" I then added.

I was pretty sure that something big should have happened by now, and that I should have been involved.

"Well I have no what you're talking about" Raven said as she guided my hand to her stomach "I think things are all peaceful because its nearly Christmas, and you should be with your family at this time of year. And by family I mean you daughter. She needs to spend time with you".

This was so a transparent attempt to make us a couple, or at least that was what I thought until I felt the baby kick.

"Yes that's your Daddy" Raven then said to her round tummy area.

I got the sense that she talked to her belly quite often. No doubt this also drove the other Titans crazy.

"She's empathic too" I was told "That's why everyone's picking up my feelings so much. Little Arella's been boosting my powers".

That had to be super weird to live with.

"But I don't think you have anything to worry about" Ray assured me "It doesn't seem to effect you".

I had no why I'd be immune.

"How do you know I can't be effected?" I wanted to know.

Raven didn't take long to answer.

"Because if you weren't able to handle it you'd be raiding the fridge by now" she said.

I took that as a hint that I should go and start dinner.

(Line Break - Sex Stuff)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"So you girls are finally done" I said as Raven and Jinx came out of the spare bedroom "Dinner was ready an hour ago".

The two shared an awkward look, and had it been possible they might have lied about what they'd been doing, but they couldn't as I'd heard them going at it. They hadn't been at all sneaky about it, and neither of them were fully dressed so that was another big clue.

"I'm glad you two are getting along" I then said "But can you explain how you went from wanting to kill each other to becoming lesbian lovers?".

While I'd encountered many strange things since I'd come to this universe, this had to be the oddest. Two girls who hated each other should not suddenly start having sex.

"I went in there to yell at her" Jinx explained "And the next thing I knew we were doing it".

This had to be a funky dream of some sort.

"I told you about the empathic problem I was having" Raven reminded "Jinx doesn't have your resistance".

Now I fully understood why her friends had made her leave. This was simply too much for anyone to handle.

"Its not like I cheated on you with a guy" Jinx said "and I've done stuff with Blackfire for you".

While that was true, this wasn't the same thing.

"That's no excuse" I replied "And I'm not blaming you".

After all this was not her fault.

"You better not" Jinx then said "And don't be all mad about it. You can sex with her too, we can have a threesome".

My life took very strange turns sometimes.

"As long as you reheat dinner" Raven added "I'm starving".

I didn't think for a second that was all she wanted.

"Why don't you go take down the demon-proofing in your room while Ray and I eat" Jinx suggested "Then we can all sex. It'll be my Christmas present to you, since I forgot to get you anything".

I wasn't sure how to feel right now.

"He's still mad at us" Raven said "I think we should be punished for being so naughty before we get any sex".

Actually I wasn't angry right now. I was somewhere between upset and horny. It was an odd feeling.

"Oh I know he can have us as gifts" Jinx decided "We'll be his sex slaves, and he can do whatever he wants to us".

I pinched myself in case this was a messed up dream, but as it turned out reality just this whacky.

"You might regret this later" I warned my girlfriend "Your feelings are being influenced".

She didn't seem to care.

"Oh please like I've never shared you before" Jinxy reasoned "Besides it just over the holidays. I can go back to hating her after New Years".

Nothing about my life was normal these days, not even my relationships so I decided to just go with it.

"Fine" I said, giving in to the madness" Go eat and then met me back in my room".

I needed the chance to tidy up a bit first so I headed for my room and after defacing the wards, which were all cleverly hidden behind posters, I took the chance to clear up.

No sooner had I done that than they entered the room. They must have been very hungry as the two sexy ladies hadn't taken much time to eat.

"Ooh" said Jinx in a disappointment "You tided up its not fair I never get to nag you about making a mess".

I had to say something about the way she was behaving.

"Did you get replaced with a pod person while you were away?" I asked.

It was Ray who answered.

"Sorry I'm projecting again" she explained "Its messing with her feelings, but don't worry it doesn't last".

Jinx didn't accept this.

"I'm fine really, I promise" she insisted "I just missed you while I was away so I'm all horny, and I don't want to ruin the holidays, so please have sex with your pregnant ex-girlfriend and me".

That was something I'd never imagined I'd hear.

"Okay but if Blackfire turns up with a pizza I'm going to commit myself to Arkham" I said "Because I'm having trouble accepting reality as it is".

Rather than say anything else the two super powered chicks started to undress while I watched, and then they went to my wardrobe and took out a couple of my Red-X t-shirts.

"I just love wearing your clothes in bed" Jinx informed me.

That was the least mad thing she'd said so far today.

"Okay I'll start" Ray decided as she dimmed the lights.

The next thing I knew we were kissing and Raven let a moan escape her mouth as I squeezed and rubbed her in all the right places. The black material of the borrowed t-shirt didn't do much to desensitise her breasts. Which were bigger than ever.

Next I heard Jinx mutter something so I turned my head to see that her eyes were fixed on my hands, which were still feeling up Raven

"Want me to play with yours Jinxy?" I asked.

Jinx nodded so slowly I reached over and grabbed one her smaller but cute breasts. The sexy Indian sorceress gasped, and I figured that she really missed my touch

I continued to rub both of their chests, which was both fun and easy as they were both practically sitting in my lap, and I had to thanks the gods that these two nymphos were getting along so well.

"Be a bit more gentle" Ray then said "I'm tender there".

Since I was still a little pissed at the Titan for messing around with my girlfriend, I decided to be mean.

"Maybe I should just pleasure Jinx instead" I said to Raven "I don't want to hurt you".

That made the purple haired magic user thrust her impressive chest forward.

"No, no you can touch them all you want" she insisted "I want you to".

I took her up on that offer and squeezed both sets of breasts as much as I wanted to.

"Agh!" Jinx yelped as I pinched her nipples

I eased up a little as I didn't want to spoil things now that I was really getting into the threesome idea.

"Mmmhmm please don't stop" Jinx then said "I want to be punished. I was bad".

I pinched her nipples again and made her squeal.

"Oh don't worry" I assured both of the girls "We've only just got started".

With the hand I was devoting to Jinx I started stroking her inner thighs as sensually as I was able. Jinxy began to shake and moan as my hand moved closer to her womanhood. I then turned to look at Raven, who in was glaring at Jinx's wet spot with brightened purple eyes. Ray even licked her lips as she looked.

"You can wait your turn" I told the Titan.

I laid my girlfriend down and then I pressed my face against Jinx's neck so I could bite her a few times, she loved it and the act always made her extra wet.

"AAAGGH!" she called out as I bit down hard "You bastard you know what that does to me".

Since I hadn't undressed I took a moment to and then I was inside Jinx who was soon bucking her hips, and moving in rhythm as I fucked her. Also I bit the other side of her next as that would help get her to a climax, and I needed her to do that before I reached mine as I badly wanted to cum inside Raven.

Thankfully it worked

"AAAAGGH! Jinx called out.

Normally it wasn't that easy to make her cum, so I figured Raven's empathy had to helping me out.

"You know I still feel betrayed" I then told the girls "Why don't you two make it up to me".

By now I'd rolled off Jinx so it was pretty clear I was still up for more, and I figured making Ray watch me have sex with Jinx had been enough revenge for one night.

"I think we should pay you back" Jinx said to me before turning to Raven "What do you think?"

The purple haired girl acted as if she wasn't so interested.

"Whatever" Raven answered

Despite what she had just said the Titan started kissing me as Jinx grasped my hard rod, and she continued to work my manhood, taking her time as she rubbed, up and down before putting into her mouth.

"Oh that's the stuff" I sighed

The purple haired sorceress was not to be outdone. Raven cooed at me for a moment, which was really odd for her, and then after pulling up her top up she stuck her tits into my face. Which made me happy for as long as it lasted.

Raven suddenly yelped as Jinx stopped sucking on my cock and grabbed her by the waist, then took she took my dick and slowly guided Raven towards it, so that Titan ended up impaling herself.

"Aaaagh" she called out.

Raven's face scrunched cutely as she sat on my dick.

"Ride em cowgirl" Jinx joked.

Not that she needed it, but she began to help Raven move up and down, while my hands groped her breasts.

"I missed this" Ray confessed "and I love you"

Raven then blushed and perhaps as an attempt to cover up her embarrassment she began moving faster. Jinx only smiled as she watched, and then she whispered something into her rivial's ear that I didn't hear.

"Oh I hate you, Jinx" the Titan then said.

I had no idea what was going on between them, and I didn't care as the purple haired girl was still moving.

"Her belly's kinda cute" my girlfriend then commented "I bet I'd look even hotter if I was having a baby".

That scared me, but only for a moment as I was distracted by the big pair of tits that were wobbling around near my face. Sadly they were to far away for me to kiss or lick as Ray couldn't press her body to far forward.

"I cant take it anymore" Raven then said as bit her lip "I need it. Cum for me, X".

That was something I'd be happy to do.

"Hold on just a bit longer" Jinx urged "Make him cum first".

Raven closed her eyes, and then let out a yell that was very loud as she orgasmed. I finished not long after, soon my cum shooting into Raven who soon rolled off me so that she could lie on her back.

As for me I fancied a nap as pleasing two women in a row was not easy even for someone with my stamina.

"Hey you can't go to sleep" Jinxy said "I wanna go again".

I mumbled something and then grabbed my girlfriend.

"Rest now sex later" I told her as she giggled.


	19. Sleepover 2

**Author Note**

This chapter has people enjoying anal sex if you are not into reading about that, then please don't read this chapter.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Sleepover 2**

"And I thought the cowboy dream was weird" I said to no one but myself.

This was very strange even by standards. I was in a high school, but all the students were heroes and villains, well the ones I recognised anyway. The staff were the same, just older.

"Okay so I somehow ended up in a really strange alternate universe where for some reason pretty much every DC character is at this school" I was now saying to myself "Which is just freaking me out".

No everyone was in their crime fighting or crime making outfits, but since I'd see all the cartoons and read at least some the comics I knew what everyone looked like when dressed casually.

"Or maybe I'm trapped in a fan fic" I muttered.

The idea that really powerful meta-human had trapped me in a crappy story actually made sense to me, or at least as much sense as everything else in my life did.

"Or it could even be Hell" I told myself.

Being sent back to high school, and having to endure all the teenage angst was my idea of endless torment. This being an American high school made it even worse

"Who are you talking to?" someone asked me.

I turned around, and then looked down to see Jinx, only she looked very different, her pink hair was done up in what some would call an ordinary style and her skin was a shade that looked more human. Yet I was sure it was her because she had on the same dress as she normally wore. It wasn't really an outfit, she sometimes wore other things we went out to commit crimes.

"Nobody" I said.

She gave me a concerned look, however it didn't last very long as it was soon exchange for an embarrassed expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" was her next query "Do I have food stuck in my teeth?".

I'd stopped caring about her skin colour along time ago, as I wasn't that superficial when it came to people appearances, but I couldn't help but stare at Jinx. I was wondering why she was so fair skinned if her mother had been Indian, but I tried not to dwell on it.

"Did you change your hair?" I quickly asked.

I had no desire to offend her so I hoped that my question had sounded totally harmless. If it hadn't I could be earning myself a slap.

"Oh yeah I cut my bangs" she said.

I acted as if that explained everything, which of course it didn't. Not that it mattered really I was sure I would wake up soon. I'd better because being a high school student was not a life I wanted for myself.

"Come on you two" another girl then said "we'll be late for Health Class".

This time my jaw nearly dropped as I was pretty sure that this young woman was Blackfire, and as a human she was still gorgeous.

Also she was Japanese for some reason, but she didn't have an accent. Her presence here was confusing as she wasn't a teenager. But I put that aside as I had an important question.

"What the heck is Health Class?" I asked.

If it was anything like P.E then I was heading for the exits.

"Didn't they have Health Class in your old school?" Blackfire asked me.

The answer to that was obvious, but I gave her one anyway.

"No" I said.

Jinx quickly explained.

"Oh so its sex eduction" I soon realised.

That made someone laugh.

"Hah hah, he said sex" a large football player remarked.

That had to be Mammoth. No one else could lose all their facial hair and still look like something that belonged in a zoo.

"Let's just go" I said.

Soon we all piled into a classroom and to my surprise the teacher was Headmistress Kane, the woman who had run the H.I.V.E back when I had attended.

She had sold me to Slade like I was nothing than a slave, this version of her was lucky to be delusion because I had already killed one leader of the school for crooks, so killing another was extremely tempting.

"Today class I will be giving you a practical assignment" Kane inform us.

Everyone but me sat up a little straighter, and I got worried. This was Sex Ed, sort of, and if it was my dream then things could X-rated. Although if that was the case then the teacher reallt should have been Harley Quinn in something low cut.

With that in mind I closed my eyes, focused on wanting to see Harley in something she could get arrested just for wearing, and then I opened my eyes again. Sadly nothing had changed, and I decided to kill dream Headmistress Kane.

"Now girls when I read your name come to the front and pick up an egg" Kane instructed while I looked through my school bag for a weapon "Then you will take a name out of the bowl, and once you have done that you will take your egg-baby to met his or her father".

No doubt this was all about showing horny teenagers that adult relations had consequences.

"James, what you doing?" Jinx whispered to me.

I was still trying to find something to kill Kane with as if this was just a dream then it wouldn't be murder, but I abandoned my search when I found nothing more lethal that was already around me.

"How do you know that name?" I asked the pink haired girl "You shouldn't know it".

I was sure I'd never told her it, just as she had not wanted to tell me hers, so I wanted to know where she had heard it, just in case this wasn't a dream. However she was called away before she could answer the very important question.

That was when I found a pencil on the floor. Finding it made me wonder if I would wake up if I went and rammed it up my own nose so that was driven into my brain. If I was really immortal I wouldn't die even in a dream, but if this was some alternate reality then I might expire as the rules could different here.

I decided that this was too an extreme an action at this stage. I might just wake up, or find a swirly portal back to the dimension I lived in. But even if I was stuck in another universe then I was sure that my squad would find a way to come rescue me. Either that or Raven would open one of her scary shadowy holes and drag me back.

Then to my amusement a version or illusion of Ray, who also had a pinker coloured skin than was normal, sat down next to me while holding an egg very securely in both of her hands. She was dressed in blue as ever, but this time it was more causal clothing. She looked nice.

"So boy or girl?" she asked me.

In my dream I had a pretend baby with the same girl I was having an actual baby with in real life. My brain just sucked.

"She's a girl called Arella" I told the delusion.

Raven gave me a freaked out look.

"How do you know my Mom's name?" she asked "You've never even talked to me before".

This was what happened when you didn't play along with crazy illusions conjured up by your own messed up mind. Thankfully I'd checked the name out not that long ago so I had something to say that calm her down.

"I didn't know" I lied "But I read somewhere that it's another word for angel. I though it was pretty. She can be our little angel".

Thankfully the dream person fell for my deception. I had no idea what would happen if the dream Titan got pissed off, but since I knew that real life Raven could be super crazy it was wise not to risk making this one mad.

"Oh well I guess its okay" Ray said.

I pondered something then. If her mother was called Arella then she might also have a connection to angels. It was odd to think about.

"Why don't you want a boy?" the girl next to me then asked.

Well it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter.

"It's an egg" was all I said "Its all smooth round the bend".

Neither of us spoke for a while so I decided to lighten the mood.

"So are you going to breastfeed?" I inquired.

The high school student went as red as beetroot.

"That's none of your business" she replied.

I decided to have some fun with this.

"Hey, I just need to know if I should pick up some baby formula on the way home" I said "or maybe a breast pump"

The cowboy dream had been more fun, but I could still drive people round the twist here. Raven wouldn't go all demonic over my bad attempts to flirt, in fact she seemed to get some perverse enjoyment out of it.

"It's not like I'd let you watch even if I did" Dream Ray told me.

Now I was wondering if I would get to see that in real life, and I thought about how that would make me feel, other than hungry.

That was when the bell rang and my watch told me it was lunch time. Which was odd because I could have sworn that it had been half past ten only moments ago, but this was a dream so a time skip wasn't that hard to believe. There was no reason why time had to make sense here.

"Do you wanna sit with me a lunch?" Raven asked "We can make a schedule for the egg-baby".

I nodded then everything went dark.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

I almost shot right out of bed as I woke up. For a second I looked around for attackers, but there was no threatening around. However I was not alone, Jinx was right next to me and Raven was on the other side.

"Are you okay?" mygirlfriend asked "You were talking in your sleep. Something about eggs and breast feeding".

I rubbed my eyes as I thought about how odd that sounded.

"Don't worry it was just a weird dream" I assure her "Baby stuff".

Raven seemed amused, but my vision was blurry so I couldn't be sure.

"I was thinking someone might want to be cuddled like a baby" she said before lifting up the t-shirt she had worn to bed "Do you wanna rest your head on these soft pillows?"

That was something I did want to do and it felt so good, and not just because they felt so real.

"Hey, I have breasts too you know" Jinx said grumpily "They're soft"

I was too comfy and too smart to say anything.

"Yeah, but mine are bigger" the Titan said "And like my butt, he just loves my breasts".

Jinx's backside was small and cute, good for a spanking or to pinch, but Raven had her beat in the body department. Not that I would ever admit this to either of them.

"I..." Jinx started to say before changing track "Yeah well he loves all of me and you're fat".

At this point I decided to speak up.

"Both of you can either go back to sleep" I said "Or you can go back to your own rooms, and sleep alone".

Jinx decided to wrap her arms around me rather than saying anything, and Raven used her arms to mush my head into her tits. Thankfully I couldn't suffocate to death.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

At lunch time I faced true horror.

"You cooked?" I asked with trepidation

Every hero and villain in Jump City knew that Raven of the Teen Titans could not cook. There were stories about her somehow burning water

"No I didn't" Raven corrected as she looked at the burned mess on the stove "I _attempted_ to cook. I don't know what this is, but it's not a steak and kidney pie".

It might have been at one point, but now it was a charred mess.

"And why did you cook steak and kidney pie?" I inquired

My guess was that she was attempting to outdo Jinx, who had made a big breakfast this morning before going out to do her own Xmas shopping. This was apparently going to take all day, and some of the evening. I suspected that she was in fact off doing something criminal, that or it was Girl's Night, yet again.

"I went online and looked up British food" she explained "And you had steak in freezer".

That made some sense, as steak and kidney pie was very English.

"I just… I don't know what I did wrong" Raven moaned as bent over the stove "The oven wasn't even set that high".

Since she had a big belly due to the baby growing inside her, the Red-X t-shirt Ray was wearing didn't cover up much below the waist even when she wasn't bending over. Now that she was leaning over just a little I could clearly see that she was wearing a pair of my boxers.

"I followed the recipe" Raven said as she turned to face me "I did _everything_ I was supposed to.

At this point I was just looking at her breasts, they seemed huge and this was coming from a guy who'd had his head mashed into them, so I knew how big they'd looked just last night.

"Well maybe cooking simply isn't one of your many talents" I told her

She glared and crossed her arms over chest, but under her boobs so that they were pushed up rather than covered. Still while this was nice to look at I managed to focus on what really matter right now.

"Raven" I said "What's really bothering you?".

She answered a little to quickly.

"Nothing" she insisted.

I crossed my arms over my own chest and stared at her.

"Come on. I know you better than that" I gently reminded her "Tell me, what's got my baby's Momma so upset?"

This time she thought about her answer.

"I wanted to prove that I'd be a better girlfriend than Jinx" she admitted "But I screwed up".

She didn't have anything to prove as the issues keeping us apart were things she couldn't do anything about.

"Lucky for you I can cook" I said "Also we can just order in".

The Titan seemed to like that idea.

"I am very lucky" she told me

Raven's hands then slid up to my chest and began to unbutton the shirt I was wearing

"I just hope that a certain super crook doesn't have to work today" the pregnant woman was now saying "It would be shame if something got in the way of dinner".

We kissed before I spoke.

"I heard he was taking some time off" I said "Its the holidays".

Xmas was only the day after tomorrow.

"Oh?" Raven replied after we'd kissed some more "Is he spending it with anyone special?"

At this point I went for big tits and gave them a good squeeze.

"Ah be careful" she urged me "I have something in the oven, and I don't mean another pie".

It was in fact a bun in her oven.

"Whose your Daddy?" I asked the bump.

Raven pretty much squee'd. I didn't even know that she could make that kind of noise, but she somehow managed it.

"You're my Daddy, too" she then said.

For reasons I didn't want to think about I'd liked hearing that, and she picked up on it due to being empathic.

"I was a bad girl, Daddy" Ray then reminded me "I did naughty things with another girl".

Truthfully that had upset me at the time. Although it was better than her and Jinx trying to kill each other.

"I should punish you some more" I then said.

Raven blushed like mad.

"If I lie on my side you could fuck my butt" she suggested "I know you want to make me scream, and it should be okay as long as you don't knock me off the bed".

That could work.

"Let's go" I said.

(Line Break)

Soon I had Raven on the bed and she was lying on her side while I had a good hold on her tits. I hadn't started fucking her yet as I working on getting her more aroused

"The only thing better would be if I'd spanked you first" I told my temporary sex slave as I kissed and bit her neck "That would have made it hurt all the more".

Sadly it wasn't an option as while Raven was tough she was also heavily pregnant so I had to be careful with her body.

"Unh, unh, unh, yes, _daddy!"_ she grunted.

I could tell that she was feverishly clawing at the bedding, trying to hold herself in place more firmly as I gave her a love bite.

"Fuck me, fuck my ass, fuck yes, Daddy!" she called out when I slipped my dick inside her rear passage "Oooh, Daddy!"

I was more gentle than perhaps I needed to be, but in this case that was a good thing.

"This is what you need, baby girl" I told her "A good punishment".

I then pushed in further.

"It's too...Daddy... you, ungggh! Wait, oh… nnggg!" she called out.

It was no use protesting. I just thrust my hips steadily, forcing more and more of my prick into her asshole. She kept whining, but since she also kept calling me Daddy and she had one of her hands over one of mine as I squeezed her tits, so I knew that she mostly putting on a show. She wanted this.

"How does it feel?" I asked

Her muscles clenching and squeezing around my cock at this point.

"My ass.. hurts, Daddy" she informed me after moaning some more "I won't be bad again.. I promise... I'll be good".

She driving me wild with this talk. It was a struggle not to start ramming into her like a freight train.

"Oh will you be good" I asked tauntingly.

I could tell that she really did feel bad about had happened and wanted to make amends. She even shifted her hips so that more of her ass was filled by my stabbing impalement, and it felt good. She even started to enjoy it.

With every thrust I could feel her asshole gripping my cock, as if it was reluctant to let go my my dick

"Fuck me, Daddy!" she moaned shamelessly "It feels so good! Fuck my asshole! Do it hard!"

If it were anyone else, I would've laughed, but somehow she managed to make that sound super sexy.

"Harder, Daddy!" she then squealed

At this point she was frantically working to met my strokes, it was all I could so to stop myself from fucking her off the bed.

"I'm gonna cum…" I whispered.

That only made her move faster.

"Daddy, fuck me hard!" Raven encouraged

Which I did for about three seconds before I climaxed, and came inside her tight butt.


	20. Dark Nights 1

**Author Note**

Recently I had a quick word with Lord Asmodeus over pvt messaging. Naturally I can't say exactly what we discussed, but the essence was that my stories have gone from dark to light. Example: Overlord and Emperor Gothic are very different from Cyborg Gothic and DC Gothic.

What do you guys think? Are the Gothics becoming too 'heroic' making them like so many Self Inserts, or is that simply what people want to read about?

Let me know your thoughts.

Have I turned to the lightside?

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Dark Nights 1**

 **The Iceberg Lounge – Gotham City.**

Until the offer had been made I never would have imagined that anything would ever compel me to once more visit Gotham City, but I'd not anticipated that the government organisation known as CADMUS would ever try to hire me. I had worried that one day Amanda Waller might recruit me into the Suicide Squad, but this wasn't like that, she was willing to pay me for my services and no threats had been made, not yet anyway.

Unlike normal I was dressed very fancy, as this was a fancy place, I felt not unlike James Bond right now. This made sense as The Iceberg Lounge was owned by a super villain, and there was even someone on stage singing a song that would have sounded great near the start of a Bond movie. Sadly for me I was not 007, and I didn't have the backing of M16, so I felt very vulnerable right now.

The person I was here to met was not Amanda Waller, he was just some guy in a suit, an agent of hers no doubt. He was waiting for me at a table near the middle of the club, so when I sat down at the table I got a great view of the polar bears, but what really caught my eye were the waitresses. Judging by what they were wearing the crime lord known as the Penguin was a leg man.

"Mr X?" questioned the agent.

Had this guy known my real name I was sure he would have used it, but there were advantages to being from another reality, my paperwork hadn't come with me and thanks to the wish along with the warding magic I employed, no one could connect my face to Red-X.

This agent could see me, but he wouldn't be able to record my image in any way. Also I was wearing sunglasses to help hide my face, despite the fact that I was indoors and it was night time.

"Let's just get down to business" I said.

My contact had ordered me a drink, but wisely I didn't touch it in case it was poisoned, or contained something that would allow me to be tracked, or even just in case the glass was used to collect my finger prints.

"Very well" replied the CADMUS minion "My employer has need of your groups special services".

I resisted the urge to say: well duh

"We need you to steal someone rather than something" I was then told "and getting to her will not be easy".

My speciality was corporate espionage, most of what I stole from one company went to another, and upon other occasions I stole from some tech firm for a private individual. The rest of the time I took things for myself.

Lately I'd not been taking much of anything. In fact recently I'd stopped a crime spree, and this went against my nature. Sure I was no Saturday morning cartoon villain with dreams of destroying or ruling the world, but nor was I a hero. I was a bad guy, and it was about time I got back to doing what I did best.

"And who is she?" I asked.

A folder was passed to me, and it was odd to be given a paper file as normally I dealt with electronic information.

 _ _Dr__ _._ _ _Harleen__ _Frances_ _ _Quinzel__ _, M.D._

Was the name on the outside of the folder, and I didn't need to look inside to learn about her. I knew her as Harley Quinn, the sidekick/lover of the Joker. Given that she was connected the Clown Prince of Crime I felt it unwise to take this job, however I knew it was also unwise to get on the bad side of CADMUS.

The file told me that years ago Dr. Harleen Quinzel had been a psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum, which I'd already known, what I hadn't know was that she had been a model student in High School. In addition to receiving high grades, she had been an award winning gymnast, and had gotten a scholarship due her talent, and that had been what had allowed to study at University.

According to the file while researching the lunatics at Arkham, she became fascinated with one particular inmate. She'd pleaded with the doctors at Arkham for three months before she'd been allow to try to treat the Joker. After he had gained her sympathies during their sessions, he had seduced her, causing her to fall madly in love with him and she had aided an escape from the asylum.

Now she was locked up in the same place she had used to work, and the Joker wasn't helping to break her out because she'd been in there for the last six months.

"Dr. Quinzel will be difficult to extract from Arkham Asylum" the agent said as I leafed through some recent photos "But I'm sure your team can handle it".

Breaking into Arkham would be the easy part, as I could simply teleport inside, the tricky parts would be getting her out and the RV point.

"It won't be easy, not with a deadline" I commented.

Given the rush I could only assume that Waller wanted Quinn for an urgent mission, one with a very low chance for survival. Which was not that kind of thing the Shadow Squad was qualified to do, but I got the horrible feeling that I failed one of us would be sent off to die.

"This will help motivate you" said the government man.

He slipped me a piece of paper, and it had a number written upon on it. There were a lot of zeroes.

"Its an good incentive" I agreed.

Even spilt with the rest of the Shadow Squad there was still enough here to send my yet unborn daughter to somewhere like Yale or Oxford for her higher education. It was hell of carrot, and of course while I couldn't see it I knew there was a stick too.

"See you at the RV point" I said before getting up.

Tomorrow night I had to break Harley Quinn, out of Arkham Asylum and get past the Batman, this was going to take a lot of planning.

(Line Break)

Arkham Asylum – Gotham City

There were dark clouds hovering over Arkham Asylum which made it hard to see the horrid place and where I was going, at least until I switched to night vision. But even then I had to stop my bike because the road was blocked by a guard post.

I cut the engine of the X-cycle, and spent a moment wondering why I just didn't fly the bike directly into the Asylum. Because I could do that.

This was the third X-cycle, I'd lost the first one and the second had been destroyed by Raven when she had rammed it with a school bus. I didn't want to risk losing yet another cycle.

I decided then that the bike would stay here outside the Asylum until I needed it, I planned to teleport onto the roof of Arkham, and when I did just that I got to see the place up close.

Arkham was a large place, it was more of a small village than a prison complex even with all the walls and the barbed wire fences.

The main gate, which was impressive in both scale and design, for some reason had two disturbing statues to either side of it, and was each holding a lit torch. It really ramped up the creep factor.

There were also towers with spotlights on them that were used by guards to keep an eye on the courtyard, which seemed odd to me as they could have just put some proper lighting up all over the grounds, even some street lamps would have helped.

As I looked around some more I thought back to the planning session I'd had with the rest of the Shadow Squad earlier today. Getting blue prints for this place had been easy, making the plan hadn't been.

My original idea had been to use Kyd's strange powers, I'd figured he could appear in Harely's cell and then take her out with no trouble, but for some reason he either couldn't or wouldn't, and he hadn't been able to explain why. He couldn't talk and as it turned out he couldn't or wouldn't read and write either. The guy was a total mystery.

So it was up to me. I wasn't worried about getting passed the cameras as I simply wouldn't show up on any screens thanks to my warding magic, and I had a shirt for Harley to wear on the way out that were make her unseen on anything electronic, this would help on the way out.

The guards were what I had to worry about. They weren't a threat to me, but if they raised the alarm then that would summon the Batman.

To deal with I had set up some diversions, however he would soon discover that 911 calls and the alert at Wayne tech were all red herrings. They had been triggered by Gizmo's use of hacking, so there were crooks to for to go and beat up.

The tiny terror had also gotten me the number of Quinn's cell and even the guard's patrol schedule, somehow. So I knew that was now was the time to make my move.

To my surprise the cells were not made of stone or bars they were in fact metal with the front being some sort of transparent material, not glass. This allowed me to see the inmates, but they couldn't see me as I was currently using my cloaking device.

I stopped in front of Harley's cell and beneath my mask my eyes widend as I saw a blond girl with her hair in twin pigtails, doing a hand stand while spreading her legs. She made my libido hum without even trying.

With some effort I was able to act rather than simply stare. I dropped my cloak and tapped on the glass.

"Who are you?" Quinn inquired.

My mouth felt oddly dry.

"Name's Red-X" I said, hoping I sounded cool "and I'm here to bust you out so keep your voice down".

I then teleported inside the cell.

"Hi, X!" Harley shouted out

I winced as she shouted, but I didn't let that stop me from getting on with things.

"Take off that jump suit and put this on" I ordered while handing her the top that had the wards sown into it "Be quick about it".

I didn't see her undress as I was too busy making it look as if she was sleeping under the covers. I had to do this because as soon as she put the shirt on anyone looking through the cameras would stop seeing here. There would be a glitch and then they would see what looked be Harley under the covers.

"Did my Puddin send you?" the crazy lady then asked.

I shook my head and watched Harley go from smiley happy face to frowny mad face very fast. Although this wasn't as scary as it looked because she was only wearing the top I'd given her a pair of panties and some socks. She looked adorable rather than scary.

"Oh that no good rotten bastard" she swore "He promised he'd break me out, he did, and its been six months. I can't believe I waited for him, he's really done it this time!".

Harley and her Puddin' had a complex relationship to say the least. The Joker was abusive and he manipulated Harley into doing bad things all the time, but he also seemed to have some genuine affection towards her. However when the verbally and physical abuse weren't enough the Joker attempted to kill her.

Sadly there are some women who would put up with that sort of thing, and even forgive the abusive partner, which Harley often did, but every now and again Quinn also tried to kill the Joker.

I was getting the sense that this was one of those times. Which was good because if the Clown Prince turned up I might need help killing him

"Put this belt on and then walk into the corridor" I ordered before teleporting out of the cell "Trust me it will work".

Because she was odd she skipped right through the transparent material rather than walk, she was able to do that because the belt contained the phasing device that had once belonged to Pink-X.

"So who does want to bust me out?" Quinn questioned me as we made our way down the poorly lit corridor "Or are you just a fan?".

Most of my attention was focused on looking for guards, but I was still able to answer that question.

"CADMUS wants you for a...".

I never got to finish as somehow Harley lifted me off the ground in a hug. Rather than struggle my brain reminded me of something I had read in her file. Harley Quinn was actually a low level meta human, she didn't have fancy powers like being able to fire laser beams out of her eyes, but she was stronger, faster and more durable than a normal human.

"Oh yes another mission" she said gleefully "They are always so much fun, and I have these new acid etched playing cards I want to try out".

I was really glad I had not been selected for that mission.

"Come on" I said once she had put me down "The chopper is only going to be at the RV point for the next three hours",

Hearing this did not make the mad woman happy

"But I need ta get all my stuff before we go" Harley stated

I had to put my foot down at this point.

"There's no time" I said.

My efforts were in vain.

"But I want my stuff!" she yelled in a childish way.

As well as felling annoyed I was also surprised that none of the guards came to find out why there was so much noise, but this was a mad house so people shouting out in the middle of the night wasn't so odd.

"Listen, we don't have the time to drive around Gotham, looking for your stuff" I argued

After all this job had a deadline.

"Hey! We don't hafta go ridden around all of Gotham to find my stuff" she told me "Its all right here, they keep my things in storage for me whenever I pop back for a visit".

For a moment I wondered how anyone could be foolish enough to keep the weapons of psychopaths and sociopaths in the same building as those crazy people. This was not well thought out.

But I soon had to end that trail of thought as Harley was skipping down the corridor. I had to stay with her and make sure she got out or I might get into big trouble.

"This is going to be a nightmare" I muttered to myself.

(Line Break)

 **Streets – Gotham City**

Harley screamed for joy as I drove the bike through the streets of Gotham, the blond was now dressed in her trademark red and black outfit, and while it covered everything up it was tight enough to show her figure and the fabric was thin enough that even through my Red-X suit I could feel her nipples poking my back, which meant she was really, really happy.

"Woo hoo! I love a guy with a sweet hog!" Harley said with a laugh.

She spoke some more but my attention was spilt between driving and making sure we were following the route the GPS suggested, it was important for us to get out of town as quickly as possible.

"Ugh. I hate it when guys follow me!" she the complained "Stalking is so not sexy!".

I turned my head, expecting to see either the Batman in his car, or the GPD (Gotham Police Department). Only it was neither of those things, we were being chased by a clown car, an actual clown car.

"Its Mr Jay" Quinn reported "He must have put a tag on my stuff so he'd know if I broke out".

That was a good of an explanation as any.

"You keep driving" Quinn urged "I'll deal with that bastard".

From somewhere I didn't want to know about, she produced a pistol with a comically long barrel. I had to keep an eye on the road I didn't see her aim, but I did hear a bang, only it was the wrong kind of bang.

"Oopsie… wrong gun…" Harley told me.

Again I couldn't see what she was doing, but I could feel her moving about so I figured she was looking for a real weapon. I would have offered her mine, but now the police were here so my hands were busy.

"Oh there's my rocket launcher!" Quinn yelled.

This time the bang was right, only when I turned my head I saw that she'd hit a police car instead. This didn't help with the Joker and his goons, who were now taking pot shots at us, but it did make the cops pull back.

"Engage autopilot" I instructed the bike

Everything was happening to fast for even my reactions to deal with, and not having to drive left me free to deal with the Clown Prince of Crime. I'd planned for this moment well in advance, so I knew what to do.

"Do not get off this bike" I said to Harley very firmly "My squad is waiting for you near the RV, they will cover your escape so do not get off this bike until they tell you to".

Before she could reply I had teleported on to roof of the clown car, which wasn't much of a roof, and a second later I took the sickle off my belt. It grew into something like the scythe that Reaper had used only now the handle was straighter as was the blade, also it was smaller so I could use it with one hand.

Which I did when one of Joker's goons got part way out of the car and aimed an uzi at me, I cut the gun in half and took a few fingers too judging by the screaming. The clown ended up on the road, and almost got run over by the Batmobile as it swerved onto the road behind us

"Fuster Cluck!" I swore.

I now knew that I had mere seconds to kill the Joker, this was my chance to end the mad man's existence so I attempted to drive the blade of my magical weapon into the clown car.

Perhaps I would have killed the Joker had a body not rammed into me and knocked me off the car, only I didn't hit the road it was like I'd been hit by a swinging pendulum, and I soon found myself on top a building.

Also I wasn't alone.

The Batman was up here with me.


	21. Dark Nights 2

**DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Dark Nights 2**

I was facing him, the one, the only, the legend himself, the Batman. We'd met before, only he wouldn't remember much of it, and unlike last time I had no intention of running away. Even if that was the wise thing to do.

Because I was livid. I was beyond angry, I was well past being pissed off. I wanted to make Bruce Wayne suffer. I could have forgiven the Cape Crusader for stopping me from completing my mission, or even throwing me into jail, but what I was incapable of forgiving was the fact that Batman had just saved the Joker.

A second or two more and my scythe, which was somehow still in my hands, would have ended the Clown Prince of Crime for good. I would have done what no before had dared to do: send that freak to Hell.

Now Batman was standing on the top of the stairwell entrance on the top of this building. He stood tall and narrowed his eyes at me, a look that in past would have filled me with fear, but not today.

I kept my posture steady, and I met his gaze, I even narrowed my field of vision, but since my mask didn't change when I did this I doubted that it had the same effect on people as his look did.

Batman then stepped towards me, and my body betrayed me as I reached by stepped back rather keep still. But I wasn't too hard on myself as I knew that the Dark Knight had perfected intimidation tactics, he knew how to attack people both psychologically and physically.

"Helping someone escape from Arkham isn't your style, X" the Caped Crusader said "Who are you working for?".

I kept my mouth shut as the worse the Dark Knight could do was beat me up and hand me over to the police, who I could escape from. While CADMUS might not be able to kill me, they were a threat to my team, and by extension Raven who they might threaten to get to me.

"You are still a criminal, so I will take you in".

I backed up a step, and moved into a fighting stance.

"Don't forgot, Bruce" I said "I have information about the League. Think about it, taking me in would be a bad move. Who knows what I will tell the cops".

Batman seemed to be thinking it over, and then he called my bluff, he sent a Batarang flying at me. I ducked under it, but it was just a distraction meant to give Mr Wayne the moment he needed to get into range for a punch. I knew this because I'd seen Robin do it.

Knowing this allowed me to move out of the way Batman's punch, but my efforts weren't enough the hit connected to my shoulder, and that caused me to drop my weapon.

Then to my surprise Gotham's Grim Guardian backed away from me, he could have pressed the attack if he had wished so I was confused.

"If you can past me and reach the door you're free to go" Batman told me "But no teleporting".

My surprise and confusion turned into shock as the Dark Knight was not a dishonourable person, if he'd said 'I will let you go' then I'd suspect that he had an ally ready to take me down, but he hadn't.

Yet he was giving me a chance to escape, at first I thought this was pride, perhaps his way of letting me go without actually letting me go, so that he could protect his identity. However that seemed unlikely. What made more sense is that he was testing me. I just didn't know why.

Of course I could teleport, but since Batman had to know where I lived, that wouldn't help me in the long run. Also every moment he was here was a moment for Quinn to flee.

While I was uncertain I hadn't become a master thief by not seizing chances so I threw my scythe. Batman turned to the side, and let the weapons fly past him, but that was okay because it was all part of the plan. I was now invisible and due to my warding magic no fancy trick in the Dark Knight cowl would help him.

Yet despite that he caught the kick to his face as I became visible and attempted to strike him with my foot. Somehow I ended up flipping in the air. For me it was it was mostly a blur, but I knew that anyone watching must of thought it looked super cool.

Next I landed and backed off as Batman rushed in, spun and kicked hard, judging by the sound the hero had managed to put a dent in the ventilation system I'd just been standing in front.

I was then rushing towards my scythe, only it moved itself into my hand, and that amazed me so much that I never saw the blow that almost knocked me to the ground. Rather than let my head met the hard surface below I made my body go into a roll, and then I was up on my feet, ready to keep fighting.

"Tell me Batman. Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" I asked.

That got no reaction, so I tried to cut Mr Wayne with my scythe, but that failed, as Batman twisted out of the way and then threw some pellets to the ground. They would be non-lethal I knew.

I blinked a number of times so that my mask switched to a type of vision that rendered the smoke pointless and I then realised that the Bat might be trying to get more information about me by testing my skills. Just from fighting me he might figure out who had trained me. That worried me as not many people knew I'd been Slade's apprentice, and I really didn't want the Titans to know that.

My concerns gave the Caped Crusader the time he needed to tackle me, but I was no so distracted that I couldn't fight back, I raised my arms up and slammed my elbow down, but this was the Batman, pain of the body didn't mean much to him.

Still I was able get myself free, somehow, and then I went on the attack with my scythe. My anger had faded, and now all I wanted to do was leave this cursed city, so I had decided to disarm the hero, by removing an arm.

Batman blocked the blow, his three pronged Gauntlets catching the blade, which was good for him because this weapon seemed to be able to slice through anything.

Rather than keep trying to slice bits off Bruce Wayne I jumped away and headed for the staircase entrance, only I didn't make it as Batman grabbed my cape and pushed me towards him.

I reacted quickly to this and aimed a punch at the Dark Knight before he could strike me. Batman ducked, and then grabbed me so that I flew over him. Once more I got into a roll, and when I got up again I attacked.

Batman blocked every punch and when I overextended he threw me over his shoulder. I just lied there for a moment as I was crippled by despair. I couldn't beat Bruce Wayne.

Then I saw Gotham's Grim Guardian take out a pair of bat themed handcuffs, he was going to drag me to the police like I was just another gang banger or mugger he'd found out on the street.

But that wasn't who I was. Red-X was the Prince of Thieves not come thug for the Dark Knight to beat up on a rooftop. I was an immortal and a magic user, it was about time I remembered that.

" _N'ghft nnn y 'bthnk uaah"_

I'd never done two Old One spells at the same time, but I had nothing to lose.

" _Kadishtu nilgh'ri r'luh uaaah"_

Thanks to those spells darkness formed around me but since I had just cast a spell to allow myself to see hidden things it didn't effect me from seeing myself or whatever was around me.

Even with the darkness Batman dodged my attempt to knee him the stomach, but his counter attack failed to hit me. The gauntlets were very good at blocking.

When I backed away Batman jumped up and his eyes began to glow, but the warding spells I had sown into my clothes that I wore beneath the suit meant that his fancy cowl couldn't see me.

That was I decided to be a dick.

"Ah you think darkness is your ally" I said "You merely adopted the dark. Were as I am the night!".

Which was of course a load of bullshit I was just playing silly buggers, and the words weren't important anyway. What mattered was that Batman came right at me and I was expecting this.

Neither of us did any real harm to each other as Bruce Wayne was simply better than me, but with my magic he couldn't see me so that balanced things out greatly.

Then Batman launched five Batarangs at me and I knew that he could somehow divine my location me, maybe due to some sort of sonar or just by having finely tuned senses I didn't know, and it didn't matter.

I had already batted the non-lethal weapons aside with my scythe and I was cancelling the spell when Batman hit me again so hard that I lost my footing and I was about to fly off the building, when I grabbed the edge of the roof and pushed myself back up.

The Cape Crusader chased after me, no doubt intending to stop my fall, but that was his mistake. I tackled Batman to the ground this time like had done to me earlier and this time it was his elbows in my back, but I was able to punch him in the ribs.

Thankfully for the both of this didn't go on very long, which was good because it really hurt and we went back to trying to beat each other up a little more gracefully.

Batman's next series of punches didn't seem to have much force behind them due to the material my suit was made from, but the Dark Knight soon stopped anyway. I didn't think he was actually trying to beat me.

I found this insulting so I threw a right hook and when Batman blocked that I kicked at his shins, and then I started to feel fatigue.

Most fights didn't last very long. Normally one person over powered the other, and when I thought I used tricky anyway so I simply wasn't used to putting this much effort into a battle.

"You're done" the Caped Crusader said.

I wasn't and Batman caught the hard kick to his chest, and soon I was hitting the ground. I knew then that I really should have kept up with my training. I'd gotten soft.

Batman kicked my legs out from under me and I was unable to stop him from taking off my mask, although I did struggle. Not that I really needed to do, he wouldn't be able to record my appearance.

"You are a hell of a fighter" I told Bruce Wayne "No wonder Tim is so good. I mean he doesn't have your skills or experience, but you really nurtured his talent".

Then without warning I used the Ring of Fireball and thanked Seeker for the gift. The magical attack didn't harm Batman but it did force him to back away, and more importantly he dropped my mask.

Next Batman threw another Batarang, at me and this one boomranged so it came at me from behind. However I knew this trick so I was able to swat the weapon aside with my scythe, which had again returned to my hand.

"I got my second wind" I said.

Batman gritted his teeth, I saw it, and then he ran forward. I felt myself grin as Mr Wayne slid on the ground, trying to trip my feet again, but I just jumped over his legs and kicked over the Dark Knight's head as I miscalculated were his head was going tobe.

I didn't think I could win, as this was the god damn BATMAN! And he always would be, but I was Red-X. No one caught me, not as a criminal or as a man. Raven had found that out in both respects.

Batman attempted to throw the knockout punch, but it cracked the wall behind my head rather than my skull. I was close to the door now, so very close and my second wind was still blowing.

"I see why Robin had trouble" said the Caped Crusader "But you are no match for me."

This did dishearten me a little.

"Well in my defence I've never actually tried to kill you" I pointed out "but if you want to me to serious I will"

Instead of replying Batman threw another Batarang and I dodged it with ease.

"How many of those do you have?" I asked him.

Way more than I did that was for sure.

"I'm prepared for anything" was his answer.

Batman wasn't normally this chatty, and that unnerved me Which explained why he was able to kick me hard into the wall and also why when I tried to move towards the door I got a punch to the face, a kick in the stomach, an elbow to the shoulder, a headbutt and then a fierce knee in the gut.

However rather than finish me off he backed away, and then I knew that for some reason he was testing me, or at least trying to teach me something, like say that it was pointless to fight the good guys.

I fired a couple of stick Xs at the Dark Knight, hoping to stick his feet to the ground, but that didn't work he avoided them with ease,

"You can't teleport, you can't win" said Mr Wayne.

Everything I'd tried had been more or less ineffective and Batman had grown tired of this game, and somehow I knew he was going to restrain me.

Which he did, Batman took out a bolo and threw it me. It should have wrapped itself around me and trapped me, but my rotary Xs, the ones on the back of my hands made short work of the restraint.

While that worked what I didn't account for was the gas bombs. I didn't have my mask on, so I took in a lung full and got very sleepy.

(Line Break)

 **The Batcave – Wayne Manor**

 _Despite all my rag I am still just a rat in a cage_

I'd been singing that song by the Smashing Pumpkins for a while now. I had no idea how long, because I had no way of recording time, but I had nothing better to do so I'd kept singing the song.

The cage I was in had to be made of Nth metal because my spells had no effect on it, and when I'd tried to force the bars apart I'd gotten a nasty shock for my trouble.

Also I had been stripped down to my underwear and socks, so my warding magic was gone as was anything I could have used to aid in my escape. Which was why I was stuck here in the gloom, singing to myself.

Then I heard someone approaching and since I could see the dark rather well I knew it was female someone. When she got a little closer I could tell it was Batgirl.

"I'm in my underwear while trapped in a cage" I remarked "Some guys pay a lot for a pretty lady to give them this kind of treatment. Should this bad boy call you Mistress Barbara?"

No one could deny that Batman was my superior in many ways, but he wasn't the kind person you opened up to so spending Batgirl in to interrogate me was a smart move. She was the good cop.

"Maybe later" the crime fighter said before changing the subject "I just came to make sure you're feeling okay".

I'd called it.

"Well I've been better" I admitted "I suppose I should be honoured really. Who knew batman thought me to be such a threat that he'd lock me up like this. He's not only completely ignoring my legal rights, and failing to hand me over to the proper authorities, he's stripped me and put me in a cage in his basement. I've seen horror movies that start like this".

Batgirl looked confused.

"Honoured huh" she said "Normally the bad guys aren't to happy about being locked up like this".

I imagined they wouldn't be.

"Being locked up isn't the issue" I replied "Its the getting out that's the problem. But I don't think he's going to keep in here forever".

Despite the fact she was wearing a cowl she managed to look sympathetic, but I doubted she was really that worried about me.

"Of course he can't let me out" I went on to say "Because as soon as he does I'm going to tell everyone who he is".

She didn't look surprised, she just looked worried.

"That won't just hurt him" she reminded me "That will hurt Robin, Nightwing and some other people too".

It would, but at this point I didn't care. I'd been humiliated and locked up like an animal the only way I'd be able to live with myself after this would be to totally destroy the lives of everyone involved.

"You two are still friends?" I asked "You and Nightwing I mean, after you betrayed him?".

Barbara Gordon had chosen Batman over Robin, that had to have hurt the original Boy Wonder.

"We were" she told me "I mean I think we will be again, but at this stage I doubt he even wants to talk to me".

This was part of her process interrogation, she wanted me to think we had a connection. Of course we didn't she meant nothing to me.

"Can you blame him?" I asked.

I wondered if Nightwing was here.

"Maybe I was a little tough on him" Miss Gordon admitted "I guess I betrayed his trust, but I didn't mean to".

Honestly I didn't remember the whole story of what had happened between them, so I didn't think I'd be able to use it against her, but this wasn't important. I just needed to talk so I'd have something to do other than sing the same song over and over again.

"Sorry about hurting your leg during that whole Master of Games thing" I said "Hope I didn't break it".

Before she could reply, Batman then made an appearance and I wondered what had happened to make him want to speed things up. My squad was out there in full force, heck even Kitten was in town, but I doubted they worried him.

"Tell me what I want to know and I will let you out" the Dark Knight said.

He had to have some sort of plan to make sure that I didn't go and talk to some reporters as soon as I could. I also wondered about what that was.

"I'll get out on my own" I told Mr Wayne.

He made no visible reaction.

"This is my lair, and you don't have your weapons" he pointed out.

That didn't worry me.

"You won't keep me here for too long" I said "If you were willing to then there would be people a lot more dangerous than me locked up in your silly little cave".

In truth I thought the Batcave was super cool.

"We can negotiate" Batman offered.

Batgirl was surprised, truly surprised even more so when the Dark Knight opened the cage. I knew this had to be a trick to make me more willing to listen, but I went along with it because if anyone could give me what I wanted it was Bruce Wayne.

"In exchange for keeping all information about the League and its members to yourself, what can I give you in return?" Batman inquired.

That was when I realised just how clever this git was. He knew I was mercenary who did what he was paid to do. If he could get me to make a deal I wouldn't break it because if I did that broke my code. Plus there was practical side to it. No one would hire me if they couldn't rely on me keeping my mouth shut about certain things.

The only exception would be if not telling someone would put a person I cared about in danger, and under those circumstances it was forgiveable, and I could always find another line of work should I break my word.

"Since YOU attacked ME first its going to have to be something big as compensation" I told the hero.

As I didn't show up on camera there was no evidence to even link me to Arkham breakout. Aside from Harley that is, and she was a crazy woman.

Sure some cops had seen me attack the Joker's car, but they had fired at me before I took action. No one was going to say that wasn't self defence.

Plus I could claim that Quinn, who was a dangerous and crazy person, forced me to give her a ride after breaking out on her own. That was far more believable than Red-X breaking her out.

"So how do you know so much about us?" Batgirl asked as Batman worked on his computer "I don't think you read my mind, but you know all about Nightwing and me".

I decided to tell the truth. The truth about me being from a reality were all this was fiction. I could back it up, and there was no sense lying around Batman. He would know.

(End)

I've been refining my idea for a Planswalker Gothic. Tell me what you think, and if you have ideas for the thing he could get up to then let me know.

 **Planewalker Gothic**

 **The Planeswalker**

PG is a post mending Planeswalker so he is not immortal and he can be killed, he is however a powerful magic user and can travel to any plane he wishes via the void aka the Blind Eternities . He can also go to places he doesn't know by viewing them in the Void, but his lack of knowledge about those places make it more dangerous to visit them.

He can obtain magical powers to make himself more powerful, and use magical items to enhance himself.

He has vast amounts of magical power, but doesn't know any spells, however he can learn spells very quickly.

He can learn to brew potions, perform alchemy and enchant items, but not Artefacts he gets from cards.

He can shape shift, but he can not yet control this power so he will always shift into a form the natives will accept. Human on Earth, and in places like MLP he would be unicorn. The limits on this are divine and demonic beings, and also dragons.

PG has a deck of Magic: The Gathering Cards.

He always has forty cards in his deck, but he can only five in his hand at any one time. The deck replenishes itself as he uses cards which means he doesn't know what spells he has or what creatures he will be able summon unless they are one of the five cards in this hand. Creatures who are summoned will return from when they came if they are killed or if the card is returned to deck. Artefacts become real when the card is used, and the card vanishes.

Followers cards don't count since they are not summoned creatures, the cards are part of the deck.

These all require mana to use.

Mana is stored in the Mox diamonds of which he has five, for now, and he can make more for his followers, who can all have one.

Mana comes from land and the energy from the places he visits absorbed into the Mox diamonds

PG can 'tap' any land he owns to fill a Mox diamond even if he is on the other side of the planet, but not across realities.

Followers are bonded to blanks cards so if PG has say ten followers then he can only have thirty cards in his deck, but those followers all have Mox diamonds necklaces so while PG will have less options, he will have more Mana to call upon.

If a Follower is badly injured or killed they can be regenerated using Mana, so as long as he has enough Mana his followers can't really die.

Only followers can travel with PG to other worlds.

Followers can not be bound against their will, once they agree to it they are as loyal as any summoned creature, but they still have their feelings and desires the binding is like a magical contract it limits their actions however it doesn't stop them from thinking.

Followers can be set free if their card is destroyed by PG.


	22. Best Made Plans

**Author Note**

I'm working on my Planeswalker story so this will be the last update you get for a while. Unless I finish the chapter I already started for Slayer Gothic sometime over the weekend, and my co-author is writing for Tamer Gothic so you might get something of his to read.

 **Reviews**

 **overlord susanoo**

I'm not happy about this. I need to make my characters a bit more evil, or at least somewhat selfish.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **Back Home**

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

"Home at last" I said as I dropped onto my bed "I'm never, ever, ever, ever going back to Gotham".

Batman had done a real number on me. The physical beating had been one things, but the head games, even though I'd been aware of them, had taken their toil. Then there had been the negotiations, those had been taxing. But at least now it was over, and I was richer for it, at least in terms of money.

"Is that you sweetie?" a female voice questioned.

The voice was coming from my private bathroom, and from inside the shower, so it was muffled, however I was able to figure out who it was in there by process of elimination. Blackfire had left the planet, and Raven had gone back to Titan Tower, which meant it was Jinx.

"Yes!" I called out.

I decided then that I too needed a shower, and since it was private bathroom, meant for the boss only, a certain someone needed to be told off for using it without my permission.

The sight that I saw had a certain effect on me in the trouser area. Jinx was soaping up her body, running her hands over her breasts and her tight ass. Jinxy knew I was looking at her, but rather than say anything she just kept touching herself.

I then did something a little bit naughty. I got my camera and started taking pictures, and that she didn't fail to notice. Thankfully, she did not start screaming at me. Rather she calmly wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the shower.

"You better not post those online" Jinx said firmly "If you do then you won't be seeing me naked ever again".

If I'd been a crueller person I could have just pointed out that Raven would be quite happy to let me take nude photos of her, but I didn't as I was now wondering if I should ask her anyway.

"Don't worry" I assured her "I'm not the sharing kind".

Jinx headed off into my bedroom, and I felt the desire to follow her. Next she laid down on the bed and I joined her.

"Its okay really" she then said "Its my job to make sure you stay happy".

This was news to me.

"Is it?" I asked "I thought your job was to hog my bathroom and spend all my money. When did this change?".

Or at least it seemed that way sometimes, then there were times like now when it became clear we were about to have sex. Lucky for me that was also part of her job.

"Would fucking your girlfriend make you happy?" as she said this she began to give me a hand job "I don't want you get tempted by someone else now that I have you all to myself".

Jinx then leaned in and licked around the head of my dick

"Would you like me to suck your big cock?" she asked next.

Jinx began to bob her head up before I gave her any answer. Next she sucked, licked and played with my balls. Then just as suddenly as she had started, she stopped.

"Jinxy!" I whined,

I shut up when I saw that was Jinx on all fours, shaking her ass at me.

"Oh I'm bad girl" she said "I need to punished".

She really knew how to talk to me, and soon I was doing exactly what she wanted me to do. I didn't even bother to undress.

"Ugh faster baby, fuck your slutty girlfriend faster!" Jinx demanded.

For once I was happy to do as I was told.

"Aaaah yes right there!" she called out as I drove into her doggy style "Oh fuck! Keep doing that!".

I rammed into her harder and faster, I was amazed that I had lasted this long as she had warmed me up really, but Jinx climaxed before I did and then asked me to stop. Which I did.

"Hey I didn't finish" I complained.

She had something planned I knew it.

"I want you to cum in my ass" Jinxy informed me "I know a certain someone else let you, and anything she can do I can do better".

It was wrong of me to use her jealousy to get what I wanted, but I was so going to take advantage.

"That wasn't all we did" I told my girlfriend as I forced my dick into her ass "Ray's a real slut when she wants to be".

I heard my partner growl, but her mood didn't sour.

"You like my ass don't you" she said.

I would have replied but I was too busy fucking her until I shot my baby batter inside her ass. Once I was done I got off her and laid down.

"You need to shower" my girlfriend insisted "Take your time and recharge because we're not done yet. I'm your only slut now, don't ever forget it".

It was easy to forget that Jinx was actually evil, not like some people in this world were, but she was no good guy, and so she wasn't above using sex to get what she wanted.

Not that I minded.

(Line Break)

When I got out of the shower I found a naked Jinx kneeling on the bed, she was smiling at me in a way that I knew meant more sex. Thankfully I had the stamina for this.

"How can I make you happy?" she asked me.

I thought about it before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Suck my cock, and use your boobs too" I ordered.

She got onto the floor.

"Yes, sir" Jinx then said

She began to use her small soft tits to arouse my cock as best she could, while also trying to lick the tip of my cock. It felt fantastic, but she didn't forget that she needed to be punished for breaking one of my rules and she reminded me about it.

I decided to punish her Without warning I pushed her onto the bed and I turned her around so that her ass was in the air. It was a very nice ass, indeed, which I immediately began to spank, by striking one of her butt checks at a time.

SMACK! SMACK!

"Ow" she complained "Its hurts"

My reply was one of actions not words.

SMACK! SMACK!

"OH! Are you punishing me sir?" she asked,

SMACK! SMACK!

"Yes sir, punish me" she said "I've been such a bad girl"

SMACK! SMACK!

"OH sir hit my ass harder please" she requested "spank your bitch"

SMACK! SMACK!

"OW!" she yelled

SMACK! SMACK!

"I am such a bad little girl" she admitted.

SMACK! SMACK!

Finally I couldn't take her dirty talk anymore so I flipped her over, and I used my belt to tie her arms to the headboard.

"Are you sure you wanna be my only girl?" I asked her.

She didn't much time to think about it.

"Yes" she told me "I'm yours, totally. Just please fuck me!".

Which of course I did.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City**

Ever since we'd gotten back from Gotham City, everyone in Shadow Squad HQ had been in a good mood. Which was to be expected as CADMUS had paid up and I had made a deal with Batman which had netted us another small fortune.

All current members of the Shadow Squad, which aside from myself were, Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Kyd, Private HIVE, Angel, Kitten, Billy Numerous and See-More, all sat around the the living area and enjoyed their ten percent of the profits.

Despite the fact that I did most of the work, I always ensured that everyone who took part in a mission got a fair share, which was currently ten percent each, and in return everyone who was a member of the Shadow Squad pitched in to keep our base in working order. They also had to maintain their own equipment, but that was little trouble as we had Gizmo.

It might seem unfair to me, but the group had made me leader so that I could led them to success, which I was doing and the money didn't matter that much to me as I could easily steal stuff for myself if I wanted it. Plus I considered a wise choice as I was never short of backup should I desire it.

"One hundred and ten, one hundred and eleven" I heard Mammoth say.

The big guy had a huge pile of money in front of him, having wanted his share of the profits in cash. He was actually counting ten dollar bills, so he really had ten times as much money as it sounded. Also I was impressed that he count that high,

Kyd was just enjoying his bag of money while his girlfriend, Angel, flipped through a catalogue, she never spoke either, yet somehow the two of them were able to communicate.

Gizmo was enjoying his bags of money and judging by the computer he was working on his plan to improve our base, using money we'd all donated to the project. On his other computer he was going over plans for improved equipment.

Jinx had already spent a lot of her cash, and she sat next to me while enjoying the items she'd brought, mostly it was jewellery, but she had also brought some magic books, from the same person Raven and I did business with.

The rest of the team had their own interests and I paid little attention to them as I was focused on my business. Batman had negotiated a deal of sorts between the Justice League and the Shadow Squad, it had been a brilliant manoeuvre which had profited us greatly, but it also came with a few commitments.

I had to share information with the Dark Knight about the jobs we did, he wasn't worried about my squad got up to as we were mercenaries and thieves, and not much of a problem in a world that contained psychopaths with super powers and suffered alien invasions.

What did concern Batman were the people who hired us. The Shadow Squad was a tool for others, and the plans of those powerful entities and organisations were what what he cared about. Now that my team was attracting the attention of groups like CADMUS out actions could have consequences that effect the entire world. However what concerned me the most was that I had to return the Red-X suit to Tim Drake, who was now calling himself Red Robin as there was a new Robin in Gotham.

This demand had nearly ended any chance of their being a deal, but the Caped Crusader had given me a whole month before I had to give it back to the leader of the Titans. However any problem could be turned into an opportunity by a smart enough person.

There was more than enough time for Gizmo to make me a new Red-X suit, and I figured this was my chance to change my look. I'd never really liked the cape, and I often found the mask to be a little confining. So I was already drawing up some designs.

Most of the suit would remain the same, as for changes I figured that an overcoat would suit me more than a cloak, and during my fight with Batman I had discovered that I needed more body armour. Plus I hoped to incorporate the phasing device into the next suit.

I'd had also done some shopping. Besides some weapons, which I loved having. I'd gotten a few other things, such as books, some new posters as well as some small trinkets. Nothing important as I'd just brought things in a effort to spoil myself.

Most of the money I had was invested. Batman had set me up with a secret identity that would allow me to live as a normal person should I ever want to, and under that name I had some good investments going, and a few accounts to draw upon.

No doubt he would want something back one day, but Bruce Wayne wasn't the kind of person to put other people's lives at risk when he could endanger his on, so I wasn't worried.

"Crud-Licking, Butt-Sniffing, Cock-Suckers!" Gizmo suddenly swore.

I looked up and watched as the tiny terror slammed his fists into the table a few times.

"Something wrong?" I causally inquired.

Gizmo took a moment to calm down before he spoke.

"There's gonna be some complications with your new suit" he explained "Not only do we need a good amount of Titanium, for the body armour, we need to be able to weave the stuff with Kevlar. We can't use plates because it would slow you down too much and make it hard for you to move".

Kevlar wasn't that hard to get, but Titanium was another story. Also weaving the two together to create armour that was light and durable required nano-bots. Which Gizmo had, but programming nano-bots wasn't easy so it would take time.

"At this rate it will take me more than a month just copy the suit you have" the little lunatic went on to say "Unless you're will to steal a few things for me so I can speed things up".

That wasn't a problem.

"Right there are three major companies dealing with tech I need" the midget of mischief told me "I mean there are tech firms and then there are the major tech firms, those are the only places that have what I need".

I didn't need to ask for more information, because it was soon supplied.

"Only Wayne Enterprises, Star labs, and Lex Corp have what I need. Wayne Enterprises is not a good place to hit cos we've been there before, so we know what we need ain't there. Which means it's in the main

building in Gotham. Batman would be on you in seconds".

And I knew I couldn't take him. When we had fought he'd been testing more than anything else. He'd used the fight as a way of figuring me out, and it had worked.

"Star labs is protected by the Metro City Science police...".

I had to stop him there.

"The what police?"

Gizmo was annoyed by the interruption, but he did explain.

"They used to be part of the Special Crimes Unit in Metropolis" he told me "But instead of dealing with meta-humans their job is safe guard advanced tech, alien stuff mostly".

Every city the USA had a Special Crimes Unit, they were the cops who handled alien and meta-human prisoners, which couldn't be dealt with by the regular police. By the sounds of things these science police dealt with the tech alien invaders left behind, and that kind of stuff was often studied at STAR Labs.

"The science police have their main base in Metropolis" Gizmo informed us "Which is the only place to get some key components. Then there's Lex Corp, they have the one thing I'll need more than anything else. Without you can forgot improving the suit".

Which was something I really wanted.

"And that is?" I then asked.

Gizmo needed a moment before he could answer me

"Kryptonite" he said.

This time I needed a moment.

"Why do you need that?" I asked "Are you planning to make me a suit that can take on Superman".

Gizmo brought up a page of information about the space rocks so I could see what he was working on.

"Its great power source" the tiny terror said "And you'll need the extra juice if you want a cloaking device, a teleporter, and phasing device all at the same time".

My current suit was powered by _Xenothium, but it was more than just a power source the liquid was like the Red-X suit's blood. Without it the outfit was next to useless. However it wasn't stable stuff so while pumping more of it into the suit's system might give me the power I needed, it would also turn me into a walking bomb._

"So how do we get Kryptonite?" I wondered.

Gizmo spent a few moments laughing it was if he had just heard something extremely funny.

"First of all, it's rare" the team's tech support was now telling us "Whatever came to our planet in the meteor storm has long since been recovered, but Lex Corp spent millions mining the stuff that's floating around our solar system, so he has a stockpile".

I figured Batman had a little bit stored, in case Superman ever went rouge, which had happened once or twice, but he wasn't going to hand some over to me. But Lex Luthor might if the price was right.

"Well Batman won't be giving me any" I said "and I'd rather not deal with Superman unless there ain't any other choice So, Lex Corp it is."

Lex had a have a huge stockpile, because other wise he wouldn't be able to do battle Superman, every other week

"There are good reasons for the using the stuff" Gizmo stated " Kryptonite and _Xenothium don't react together, so no extra risk of blowing yourself up, and humans are only effected by either of the stuff if your exposed to it for a long time. Your suit doesn't shield you completely from the radiation, but you don't wear it all the time so there's very little risk"._

 _I wasn't worried as if being stabbed, twice, being poisoned and then drowned didn't do me any long term harm, then radiation wasn't going to be the end of me._

"We'll figure it out" I assured the little lunatic "and I'll get what you need. Make me a list. I'll start with the easy stuff first",

Gizmo chuckled

"The easiest way to be to get Luther to hire you" the tiny terror reasoned "Then you could trade..."

That was when we got a call. I used my computer to find out who it was and then it was my turn to laugh.

"You'll never guess who wants to hire us now" I said to the group.

This time it wasn't Gizmo wore swore.

"You have to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" yelled Jinx.

In my view it wasn't as unlikely as it might seem. Lex Luthor was funding CADMUS, and that organisation had just hired me for a job. That was a strong connection, and no doubt my fight with Batman had drawn some attention as well.

"Luthor is dangerous" Jinx stated "We can't work for him".

I wasn't worried about myself, but if anything ever happened to my Jinxy I'd be very miffed. If someone like Lex Luthor killed her then I'd dedicate myself to destroying everything he ever touched, then I'd kill him.

"Relax baby girl" I soothed "All you have to do is stay put, enjoy all your new stuff, and I'll go talk to the bad man".

You didn't need to be empathic to sense uneasiness in the room,

"If you need ANY help, whatsoever, I will join you and help you work for Lex" Jinx insisted "We all will, he isn't a match for all of us".

The last thing I wanted was for the Shadow Squad to get into a war with Lex Luthor.

"Whatever I get called to do in Metropolis for Lex, I don't want any of you there" I told the team "I'll do the job alone, you guys can do the planning stuff from here".

That got everyone in a shouting match, aside from Kitten who just turned up the volume on her headphones.

"Its not open for debate" I said "A single person might be able to commit a crime and avoid Superman, but a team won't, and you don't need to actually be there to rig false alarms and fed me intel".

Jinx glared daggers at me, she was more possessive of me now that she wasn't sharing, and I felt that if I didn't bring her along I'd have to find a way to make it up to her or the amazing sex we were having would come to an end.

"I'll go tomorrow" I then informed everyone "But tonight we're going to have a big party to celebrate our success".

That cheered everyone right up.


	23. Affection

**DC Gothic - Red-X 2**

 **Odd Affections**

 **Roof of the Daily Planet. Metropolis.**

From up here I could look out at all of Metropolis, which was considered to be one of the greatest cities in the world. I didn't know if that was true, as I hadn't seen that many cities as of yet, but as the sun was setting I admitted to myself that it was impressive looking even after being raided by the evil bitch known as Granny Goodness and a shit load of Parademons.

That fight had been very intense, and while I hadn't needed to join in as I could have left town, having already done the job Lex Luthor had hired me for, which involved a bit of industrial espionage, but I'd wanted to, and it had been fun to just let lose.

I'd not only killed, or at least injured many Parademons, I'd also driven my scythe into the shoulder of Darksied's son, Kalibak while the big brute had been trying to pound Supergirl into a sticky paste.

Unless he'd bled to death after retreating via a Boom Tube, the guy was likely still alive, and while he might come after me I wasn't worried. I was far down his list concerns of that I was sure, and it wasn't as if he would know who Red-X was. Not unless he had some spies here on Earth and he wasn't bright from what I knew.

I had also tried to kill Granny Goodness, but that had ended badly for me as the nasty old woman had blasted me with some sort of energy weapon, and by the time I'd recovered from that all the bad guys had started running away. Still I'd made a small difference.

My trail of thought came when part of my view when I sensed that someone was nearby. I looked to the left and then up a bit in order to see a blonde girl in Superman's colours starting at me.

"Hey there, Beautiful. Come here often?" I asked.

Supergirl had her arms crossed, but I wasn't at all concerned about that as she was smiling at me. Perhaps that had something to do with being caught without mask on. She wouldn't remember what I looked like as since the last time we'd met I'd made my wish, but she would still remember losing to Red-X during the Master of Games' contest.

"I figured I would come and say thank you for helping drive off the bad guys" she as she landed on the roof "And to make sure you're leaving".

Somehow I'd gotten into the habit of overstaying my welcome whenever I left Jump City.

"You're just lucky Superman's not around for a few more days" she then added "He wouldn't let you leave peacefully even if you did help out, but he might at least have given you a head start".

With me that might actually mean something as I was very good at running away from authority figures.

"Yeah Batman made it clear that I was not to visit Gotham ever again" I told the very sexy alien babe "And soon Metropolis too will be out of bounds for me".

Thankfully for me California was a long way from Metropolis, and from what I knew of the Justice League they were content to let the Titans handle me. Not that they could, but since I wasn't going around committing acts of terrorism I doubted I was a high priority for the League. Not now that I had deal with Batman.

"Let's hope you don't ever go back to Gotham" Supergirl warned "If you do tall, dark and broody will bring the founding members of the League down on your head".

The Dark Knight was very territorial.

"I just don't get why" she then "You're just a thief, not a major threat"

This words were shocking to hear.

"I'm surprised to hear say that" I admitted "Most of the people on your team seem to think I'm out to get them".

It would be insanely foolish of me to even try such a thing. Even if I could convince the Shadow Squad to help me take on the League, we didn't have the numbers or the power to succeed. Plus even if we did somehow manage it there would be no left to defend the Earth the next some aliens invaded. So it was doubly foolish.

"I'm blonde, not stupid" Supergirl then said "The world is a complex place, and the people in aren't simply divided into good and evil".

For a teenage girlsshe was rather wise.

"Anyway" she went on the say "You saved me from Kalibak so I'd like to give you a reward".

She kissed me on the cheek and to my surprise I blushed a bit and avoided eye contact. By the time I was willing to look at her again she was long gone and the sun had finally set.

"Damn she's hot" I muttered just before I jumped off the roof.

(Line Break)

 **Titan Tower. Jump City.**

"I'm back bitches!" I yelled as the lift door opened.

Rather than go home directly I'd decided to stop by at the Titan Tower first in order to check on Raven, and to give all the Titan some presents from my trip to Metropolis.

"Red-X!" Robin yelled "How do you get into the Tower?".

It was so very tiresome when he shouted at me.

"The front door" I answered "but I used your underground parking. I hope that's okay".

Apparently it wasn't, but at least he didn't attack me.

"But what about the alarms?" Cyborg inquired "I just finished upgrading the system".

Such things meant nothing to the Prince of Thieves.

"I'm a high tech burglar" I reminded the Titans "Getting past fancy alarms is what I do for a living".

At this point it seemed best to change the subject.

"I came over to give you guys some gifts I picked up in Metropolis" I informed them all "I have Superman plushies, Superman key chains. Superman... well you get the idea".

Starfire and Terra were soon hugging their new stuffed toys.

"And I came to check on Raven" I then mentioned "Is she in her room?".

The room went deathly silent.

"You don't want to go in her room" Beast Boy warned "the horror".

I simply didn't understand what they were so concerned about.

"Look" Robin, or Red Robin as he was now called due to costume change

"I don't like you spending time with Raven. I think she'd be better off if she ever saw you again, but I think someone has to go cheer her up. She's been a bad mood for days now, and its not good for her or the baby to stay cooped up like this".

Beast Boy did not agree.

"Dude you can't send him in there" he protested from behind the couch "No one deserves that"

That made me laugh.

"She's not some demonic creature lying in wait to devour anyone foolish enough to enter her lair" I said to the green coloured hero "Ray's a sweetie you just have to know how to talk her. She's just like another woman".

I assumed he was just being an idiot so I went to Raven's room and knocked on the door. No one replied so I opened it and saw nothing, there was just this creepy darkness.

"Sunshine" I called out "Are you in here, its Daddy".

That was when something wrapped itself around my foot, and I dragged leg first into the darkness.

(Line Break)

 **Titan Tower. Jump City.**

The next thing I saw were a pair of scary glowing eyes, they were red and totally demonic. Also there were tendrils of darkness slithering about. I couldn't see then clearly, but there was no mistaking what they were.

"You did this to me" an evil voice whispered.

As it turned out I should have listened to Beast Boy's warning.

"Now I'm going to make you pay" the voice promised.

Nothing at all happened. The tendrils tried to strike me, however they simply faded away. That was when I remembered that I wearing the Ring of Azar, it protected me from demons.

"Bless you Seeker" I muttered.

I had no how that mysterious man had known that I would need the magical protection. He must of known because the a Ring of Azar wasn't something you could get a jewelry store, he wouldn't have given me unless he'd foreseen something like this happening.

Still even with the protection I wasn't safe. I had to get myself out of trouble, the problem with that was I simply wasn't willing to harem Raven. After all it was my spawn she carrying.

"Raven let me down right now" I said firmly "If you don't I will punish you and there will no cuddles".

To her the no cuddles was a dire threat.

"Like you'd touch me" she said, in a more human sounding voice "Look at me I'm like a walrus".

The tendrils of darkness began to fade away and now I could see something more funny than scary. Raven was wearing maternity clothes, they were blue, but very different from what she normally wore, and once I got over how silly they were I realized that she looked sexy to me. Hopefully that was because she heavily pregnant with my child, and not because I had some hidden fetish.

"I'm fat" she cried as I dropped to the ground.

Now things were making much sense.

"Oh baby" I said as I picked myself up "I think you look great".

She wiped away her tears before speaking again.

"You're not just saying that, are you?" she asked.

I then remembered something else.

"You're the emphatic one" I said "You tell me how I feel".

She began to quickly cheer up, and since she was sensing my arousal it was easy to understand why. Something about her belly and those big boobs were doing it for me.

"Do you really like me in these clothes?" she then asked me.

I just nodded.

"You want lie down with me for a bit?" she then wondered.

I knew where this was going.

"Whose your Daddy?".

I had to hear her say it.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ. Jump City**

Until now I had felt at all guilty about spending the night with Raven, and if not for freaky shit going on at my group's headquarters I doubted I would be feeling it now if everything was fine.

But once I had found out that something strange was going I blamed myself. I should have been here to prevent my team from coming under the insidious mind control of this 'Mother' person.

Earlier I'd called to say that I was on my way back. A women who looked old enough to be Grandmother had answered the call. When I'd asked to speak to Jinx I'd been told that she wasn't allowed to come and play.

Naturally I'd been confused, and suspicious so I'd sneaked into the base and then slipped into the ventilation system that was big enough to crawl around. Having one was a direction violation of the Evil Overlord list, but when you lived underground you needed large air ducts.

"Mother will always be here, children," the strange woman said with a big smile "Are you all full Jinxy?"

I growled softly when I heard the old women call my girlfriend by that name. Only I ever called her that.

"Yes Mother," Jinx smiled contently as the elderly woman wiped her face with a napkin "Thank you Mother".

Now I was freaked out again rather than pissed off.

"I'm not, mother. May I have some more cookies?" See-More asked.

While I could have acted now I decided to bind my time and to gather more information about what was going on.

"Of course, See-See!" Mother said as she made several plates piled with cookies appeared "There you go".

The magic user, she clearly had to be, then turned to Mammoth.

"Look who's filthy wilthy! Mammy needs his bibby!" the old woman said.

A bib that read 'I'm A Big Boy' popped into existence around Mammoth's thick neck, and while that sight alone might require me to undergo therapy I kept my focused. This 'Mother' person used her wand much like a Witch from the Harry Potter books used a wand. Therefore she might be rendered helpless if it was taken from her.

"Thank you Mother Mae-Eye," Mammoth said.

With some effort I ignored the spoken words and wondered what would happen should I just shoot the old lady. If she was a human witch then she could be killed like another mortal. It might take a bit more effect, but I had a lot of fire power and my magical scythe.

"I want my blankie!" Private Hive whined.

Next I thought about this 'Mother' person. I tried to figure out what her motivation could be. She had to be getting something out of this, and I dismissed the idea that she was hear to kill us because if that was the case she could have done about now. My team was helpless.

I briefly considered that she might be some pervert who got her rocks off by making people act like small children, however I suspected that she actually wanted to control the Shadow Squad. If she could do that she'd a group of super powered crooks under her command, that would make her very dangerous.

"Here it is, Privey Hivey," the old woman said as she took out a yellow blanket with a hive pattern on it "Now you're all cosy wosy".

At this point I was mostly fighting not to vomit. This was all way too cutise for my taste.

"What about you, Gizzy? Do you want more cookies" 'Mother' asked.

By now I decided to take action I simply couldn't stand another second of this horror show. Demonic Raven hadn't made me feel this bad.

I slipped out of the ventilation system and softly landed behind the spell caster, a thrown X disarmed her and then I took out my scythe.

"Don't hurt Mother!" Jinx yelled.

A hex bolt hit me and I was blasted into the wall

"You're gonna get spanked!" See-More called out.

Before replying I threw some smoke bombs.

"I do the spanking around here" I said.

Rather than dwell on how stupid that had sounded I switched to thermal and the sought out the 'Mother' lady. Only before I could do that I was tackled from behind by Mammoth, and then lifted into the air.

"No one hurts Mother".

I managed to teleported out of his grip, which was good for my ribs, only to end up nearly getting blasted by Gizmo, who was somehow able to see me despite the smoke. Thankfully for me his aim sucked.

By dumb luck I ended up avoiding one blast only to land in front of the old woman who was frantically looking for her spoon I guessed. Not that it mattered really as Gizmo blasted her with both barrels of his portable laser cannons a split second after I ducked to avoid the attack.

When the smoke cleared only half of the witch was left, and those were legs, and with her death the Shadow Squad returned to normal. Private HIVE and See-More stopped hitting each other. I assumed that they had both thought that I was the other due to all the confusion.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked of Jinx after I took my mask off "Are they okay?".

While the number of people in our gang tended to fluctuate, a few days ago there had been ten so that meant a few of my fellow crooks were missing. I was actually worried about them.

"Mother.. I mean that old lady put them down for naps" my second in command replied "They should be okay".

I had more queries.

"How did this happen?" I demanded to know

Jinx explained that she had gone to a new bakery to get something sweet. The old woman had offered her some free samples and then 'Mother' had turned up inside our Headquarters, and had started feeding people cookies that I suspected were drugged.

"Okay we should check on everyone else" I decided "And then I'll check out what was in the cookies. Hopefully the withdrawal won't be to bad".

Given that team were no longer under the evil witch's control the mind control must have been at least partly magical so I didn't think the team would suffer too badly, but it was best to get Gizmo to run some tests on the baked treats, just to be sure.

"I killed her" the tiny terror said when I attempted to talk to him "I've never killed anyone before".

Had I been a nasty person I would have mentioned that he'd tried to kill people before, and therefore shouldn't be so effected by his one success, but I kept my mouth shut. Killing those who tried to harm me and the folks I cared about was something I could handle, but not everyone was able to deal so easily with taking lives.

This also meant that I would have to handle the investigation as no one seemed to be in a fit state to do anything. I also had to clean up the corpse and do something about all the damage that Gizmo had caused while firing his twin laser cannons.

"Karma is a bit" I muttered.

I was pretty sure that I was being punished for cheating on Jinx, and yet I didn't think it would stop me from doing it again. I just didn't seem to built for monogamy.


	24. One Last Job

**Author Note**

I planned out a few endings for this story, and I found them all to be either ridiculous or they left the character in a position that wasn't going to led to Red-X returning for a book 3, should I ever get around to writing it. I also considered carrying on with story, but I think I've done what I can with Red-X the thief I think its time to move on to Red-X the mercenary.

After some thought I figured why not end this story with the Shadow Squad doing one last job before they all go their separate ways. The team has been a success so there's not real reason for it to carry on, not when there are adventures to be had elsewhere.

If you don't like it well I did my best, and endings are hard.

 **DC Gothic – Red-X 2**

 **One Last Job**

 **Shadow Squad HQ. Jump City**

Today was a special day, one filled with both sadness and joy. It was sad because the members of Shadow Squad, for different reason were all heading separate ways. The alien powerhouse known as Blackfire had left sometime ago and now others were leaving.

Gizmo had decided that his talents were better spent making equipment for other people to use rather than use them himself, he'd used his share of the profits so far to buy a property big enough for his needs. I just hoped that he didn't go all mad scientist and punch a hole in the universe.

Mammoth also felt that he would be better off elsewhere. Shadow Squad had never really needed his muscle, and he'd been offered a contract with a wrestling organisation that specialised in metahuman matches. It was legitimate work and so he needed to leave his life of crime behind.

Jinx was going to India, and she didn't want me to come along. It was a family thing apparently, and while it was disappointing that wouldn't tell me about the problem I wasn't that upset about it. I liked Jinx a lot, but I couldn't say that I loved her.

As for the rest, well most of them had never been full timers, and I was sure that they had their reasons for leaving Jump City, but none of that mattered as the real reason why the Shadow Squad was shutting down was because we'd been too much of a success.

The HIVE FIVE had recruited me and put me in charge because they'd needed someone to make them flourish. They'd wanted to be rich and famous criminals, and now that they were the team wasn't needed anymore. I'd done my job a little too well.

On a more personal level I too was leaving because for reasons I didn't understand Raven, the mother of my yet unborn child, had just up and vanished. She was due to give birth soon and I was worried that I might not see her again, unless I went and found her. I also wanted to find out why she had left so suddenly, and without telling me. At least she had left me a note telling me was leaving, the letter had told me she would come back, but that hadn't comforted me and it wasn't really Raven I was worried about.

As painful as it was to part ways with my friends this was also a good day because now I had my new suit. It was mostly a copy of the one I had returned to Robin, but there were a few changes.

Gone was the cape. That had been replaced with an overcoat that could be quickly removed. This allowed me to carry more things, and it had been designed to fit with the whole Red-X look. The other big change was the belt now had more than just a cloaking device, and a teleporter.

Thanks to Lex Luthor of all people I had some of that lovely green space rock to help power my suit, which not only meant were the suit's existing systems more powerful I now also had a phase shifting device. This allowed me to pass through solid objects and with the teleporters extended range I would be able to get around far more easily.

Granted I was still limited to line of sight, but since it required less energy to teleport all I had to do was port somewhere high up and then use the telescopic feature in the helmet to pinpoint where I wanted to go next. This way I teleport across an entire city if I wished too.

My weapons had changed to. My scythe had vanished the same night Raven had, and there was a connection I was sure, but that hardly left me defenceless. I'd made my own magic sword, or to be more precise I'd enchanted a blade that had been forged for me with old one symbols.

The spell cast upon the weapon made it more durable than it should have been and I also placed symbols upon it that should allow me to kill anything that lived using the sword. I'd not tested it yet, but I had faith in my work, and I also figured that I was going to need it.

Also I carried a collapsing staff I'd gotten from Slade, the knife I'd gotten from the Predator known as 'Orion' and the blaster pistol that I had rarely ever used. On top of all that I still had the throwing Xs and the rotary Xs on the back of each glove.

Another way the new suit was different than the old was the hood. If I didn't wish to wear the skull mask and I still wanted to hide my face I could put on a smaller mask that only covered around my eyes. That combined with the hood would hide my features.

"Gizmo certainly went the extra mile" I said to Jinx as I put on my new skull face mask "Biometrics, infra red, and night vision".

I then turned to Jinxy who was waiting for me to finish getting dressed and I switched to what was call penetrative vision, and I saw under Jinx's clothes. It worked a lot like Superman's X-ray vision in that it allowed me to see behind layers, and even clothes.

"Yeah this suit is awesome!" I then cheered "and judging by the thong you're wearing I am getting laid tonight".

Jinx blushed crimson red and then covered her most private area with her hands, only that did nothing to stop me looking.

"You look sexy" I told her "and good work on not wearing a bra, you know I hate those things".

Jinx blushed some more before slapping my arm, not I felt it much thanks to the padding I was wearing.

"You're being a pervert" she accused while smiling at me "But I don't mind as long as it's you, and you can look some more later".

I would have to wait until later as the Shadow Squad had one last job. No one had hired us for it, this was just for ourselves. We were going to rob the largest stockpile of gold in Jump City.

While this wouldn't make us as memorable as if we'd knocked over Fort Knox, or stole the Crown Jewels right out of the Tower of London, but that didn't matter as this more about the money than anything else.

"Yeah lets go" I said "One last job".

(Line Break)

 **Gold Depository. Jump City**

Mammoth groaned as he picked up more bars up for Kid to transport, gold wasn't that heavy when compared to other metals, but it given the amount they were stealing it was putting some strain on the big guys muscles.

"We shouldn't be too greedy" Red-X said to his team "I think that's more than enough. We'll fill up the safe house at this rate".

No one knew how Kyd moved things around, and he couldn't explain why because frankly he didn't know, however it wasn't important. What did matter was that the gold he was sending away would appear inside the safe house that was outside Jump City.

It was important that it go there rather than the group's soon to be abandoned headquarters because that was the first place the Titans would go looking for it. They'd no doubt storm the place, and perhaps even call in back up, but they'd find nothing.

The different members of the Shadow Squad weren't going to simply divide up the loot once they got the safe house because that would have been impractical. Rather they would hand the whole lot over to a guy called Midas who had a great love for gold.

In exchange for the costly metal the ten members of Shadow Squad who were involved in this job would get paid. Some would take money in cash, while others would take payment into offshore accounts. Red-X would be taking his share in jewels as they were easy to transport and also easily turned into regular money.

This was an important stage of the plan because then there would be no evidence linking the Shadow Squad to the robbery. None of them show up on camera and the security forces, who were all currently taking a nap, would suffer short term memory loss due a clever use of magic.

Even the heroes did chase them from the scene, and they thieves got arrested it wouldn't matter as the lack of evidence combined with well paid lawyers would ensure that no charges were pressed.

"Oh this is so much fun" Kitten cheered "I am so glad I joined you guys, my Daddy's going to be so impressed I'll make money from this one job and he made in his entire career".

Kitten, who was dressed a sexy catgirl for some reason, was the daughter of Gotham villain Killer Moth, who thanks to Batman had never really made it to the big leagues.

Gizmo then heard his pack go off.

"CRAP!" he yelled "the damn Titans are here".

While the crook team had planned for this, that didn't mean they wanted to fight the local heroes. What they wanted was to pull of one last successful job, and get the hell out of town.

"Kyd, get the loot out of here!" Red-X ordered.

Mammoth grinned and flexed his muscles, unlike everyone else he was looking forward to the coming fight.

"Last chance to leave before they arrive" Jinx said to her boyfriend "Think we should just go?"

Before he could reply Private Hive rushed in to report to Red-X

"Only four Titans, Sir" he told his boss "Red Robin, Terra, Beast boy and Cyborg!" He came up. "I don't see anyone else, no Raven and no Starfire either, Sir!"

No one was surprised by the lack of Raven, but there was confusion as to why Starfire wasn't around.

"We can take them!" roared Mammoth

Red-X agreed. Humiliating the heroes one last time was too tempting to pass up, and the Shadow Squad had numbers on it side.

"Private, Mammoth, Jinx and Gizmo will attack along with me" he ordered "everyone else hold back in case the Titans call in backup".

Private Hive and Mammoth ran outside as quickly as they could while Red-X headed up. Meanwhile Jinx and Gizmo went went out the back with the intent of separating once they were outside. They would each make their own way around building so they could attack the Titans from unexpected directions.

Outside, Terra, Red, Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy landed in front of the bank and upon seeing Mammoth and Hive Cyborg, aimed his Sonic Cannon at the bad guys.

"Give yourselves up, and maybe we'll go easy on you" he said.

Mammoth chuckled.

"Sorry metal head, not gonna happen!" the big crook shouted.

The strongest member of the Shadow Squad grabbed Hive and threw him at Cyborg, shield first. He flew like a missile at Cyborg. Before there was any impact Beast Boy turned into a Gorilla and caught Hive, falling back and slamming him into the ground as Cyborg jumped on Beast boy's raised legs. Red Robin, having spotted Red-X headed for the roof

Using her powers Terra lifted up the ground Mammoth was standing on threw both the concrete and the villain, at Gizmo.

At the last moment Gizmo jumped into the air and fired at Beast Boy, Mammoth, after hitting the ground had grabbed the concrete slab he just been riding on and was now using it to smack Cyborg with.

Jinx had caught up with the others and was now keep Terra occupied, just as Mammoth kept Cyborg busy, and Private HIVE distracted Beast Boy. They were trying to win they were simply buying time for the other members of Shadow Squad to finish transporting their booty.

By far the most exciting battle was taking place on the roof. Red Robin was facing off against Red-X for what could be the finally time. Neither of them was fighting to kill, or to even wound, their battle was more about proving which was better. However this wasn't going to be the time that was decided as someone had called for backup.

"Let's go! There back up is here!" Red-X shouted.

The flash of light the thief had just seen signalled that the either the Justice League had sent a team to aid the Titans or that more of the younger heroes had just arrived. Either way it didn't really matter as the Shadow Squad wasn't going to stay long enough to find out.

(Line Break)

 **Shadow Squad HQ. Jump City**

Everyone was enjoying the spoils of their success, Jinx was flipping through some of the cash as mammoth lifted the gold around, as a workout and as a way to feel the weight of their success. Gizmo was grinning and counting every single cent, while Kid was just staring at the bars intently.

Private Hive was trying to stick some gold bars on his shield, and no one had a had a clue why. Everyone else was sitting around and waiting.

"Midas will be in less than a hour" I said to the other crooks "Until then we just sit back and relax".

The safe house was an abandoned house far outside of Jump City, and there was no reason for the heroes to look for the villains here. Plus with the warding magic they'd be no way to tell if the bad guys were inside the building unless someone popped their head inside the door and looked.

"So where are you going next?" Jinx asked once I had taken a seat.

That was a complex question as I had no idea where to look for Raven. My only hope was that Doctor Fate could help me find her, which he should be able to do given how powerful and knowledgeable he was, however I had no clue how to get in contact with him. Finding the city would be a challenge, but there were plenty of magic users around, and one of them had to have the information I sought.

"I heard of this magical city somewhere in Turkey" I told Jinxy "If I can find the place then someone there might be able to assist me".

Jinx seemed to know what I was talking about, but since she didn't offer me directions she clearly didn't know where the magical city was either.

"So do you wanna go upstairs" she then inquired.

Since we had some time to kill that seemed like a good idea to me. Plus it might be the last time she and I had a chance to do it.

"Sure" was all I said.

With that I followed Jinx to one of the bedrooms, and I didn't intend to leave it was time to make the deal.


End file.
